Best friend to the very end
by SpiderMonkey98
Summary: Months after the loss of his best friend, Shay, a lot has changed for Kelly Severide. His struck up a new friendship with Erin Lindsay but there was always something missing. Even before Shay's death. But could a blast from the past change everything for Kelly? ***Chapter 15 UP NOW!***
1. Introduction

Hey Everyone,

This is my first **Chicago Fire** fanfiction so bear with me. I have watched **CF** since season 1 episode 1 but being from Australia I am a bit behind in the second half of season 3 and season 4 but lately Youtube and Foxtel have become my best friend and I am slowly catching up. So I might not be 100% on things.

This story will follow K. Severide, E Lindsay, G. Dawson and M. Casey along with Severide's daughter Hannah Kate and her mother Katherine Anderson (My additions). She is inspired by the relationship between Severide and Shay. I swear if Shay was straight her and Severide would have made the best couple.

(Ft. Linderide {booo linstead!})

Other characters it will include are; Capp, Herrmann, Cruz, Brett, Borelli, Otis, Newhouse, Mouch, Boden and some others from Med and P.D

 **A bit about Hannah:  
** _She is a mini version of Severide; Caring, sweet, mentally strong. (Pretty much whatever you think of Severide). Although she hasn't seen her dad for the last two years and on-off for the 6 years before that they are still as close. There is a part of Hannah that reminds Severide about Shay in ways she does things and things she says. Hannah brings Severide back down to earth, she makes him realise there are people who care about him, But she doesn't make him too soft :)_

Please don't be afraid to tell me what I need to improve on and any ideas you may have. Also for the first few chapters it would be good for people to show if their interested in this type of story other wise I might just stick to my other fanfics but I would really love for this one to work.

BTW the title might change, still trying to find one that will fit. Already have 7 ideas  
* You're my girl, my best friend  
* My best friend till the very end  
* Somebody to die for  
*For You (Inspired by " _Gone, gone, gone"_ by Phillip Phillips)  
* I lived  
*Always  
*Family

I am completely open to ideas for the title and chapter titles (Maybe names of songs) But alot of the themes revolve around father/daughter, life/death, Severide and Shay, Severide and Erin, Family, Risks of being a fire fighter and having a family.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy my story! :)


	2. Mon Amour

Every day for the past six weeks Hannah walked past Firehouse 51 on her way to and from school. Not once did she stop and say hi even though heart told her to.

It had been eight years since she last set foot in the house. Back when she was six she would spend more time there than she did at home, helping her dad and climbing in and out of the squad truck and bossing everyone around at the squad table. More than once she went on call outs with her dad in the squad truck.

She would tell herself each day "I'll go, say hi" but she couldn't. She knew her mum would find out and not be happy with her. But she knew today was the day. She knew her dad would be there because she saw his car out the front that morning.

The school bell rang. Hannah quickly got out of her chair and made a b-line for her locker. She got out her bag and walked out the door. She was going to see her dad today and she couldn't contain her excitement. It was the first time she'd been back in Chicago for seven years and for the first time in two years she would be able to hug him again and hear him tell her he loves her. Today she didn't care about what her mum said, six weeks was enough.

As she walked down the road towards the firehouse and watched as the trucks arrived back in the house. As she got closer she could see two people talking out the front as the large roller doors closed. She waked up to the two talking out the front, still in their fire uniform.  
"Um, Hi. Is a Kelly Severide here today?" Hannah asked  
"Yeah. Does he know you're coming?" The girl asked.  
"Not really."  
"Right?" She questioned.  
"Sorry you don't know who I am right."  
"Yeah" They both replied.  
"I'm Hannah. Hannah Severide."  
"Severide?" The guy questioned.  
"Yeah. I'm his daughter."  
The two looked at each other, confused.  
"Come with me" Said the girl as she walked up to the firehouse.  
"Kelly!" She called out.  
"What Dawson?" He replied as he turned around in his chair.  
"When were you going to tell us about Hannah?" She asked as Hannah stood next to her.  
"Hey dad."  
Kelly froze for a second "Han?" He questioned.  
Hannah smiled.  
Kelly got out of his chair and ran up and hugged his daughter.  
"How long have you been back?" Kelly asked  
"Not long" Hannah lied "So did you keep me secret?"  
"Maybe" He joked.  
"Uh Lieutenant, explanation please" Cruz asked.  
"This is Hannah, my daughter."  
"Yeah we gathered that, but how?" Asked Otis.  
"You miss that lesson Otis" Replied Herrmann.  
"Very funny" Otis replied.  
"Her Mom and I went to high school together."  
"You sly bastard" Herrmann laughed.  
"Hey Han come with me, I've got something to show you" Kelly said walking to the kitchen with Hannah not far behind.  
"What?" She questioned.  
"Candidate. Have you seen Casey?"  
"He's in his quarters I think" Borelli replied.  
"Thanks."  
"Dad what are you doing?"  
Severide knocked on the glass door to Casey's quarters.  
"Yep" He called out  
Severide opened the door "Look who Dawson found out the front."  
"Hannah?" Casey questioned.  
"Uncle Matt" She said hugging him  
"Hannah last time I saw you, you were what? Five?"  
"Six-and-a-half"  
"What are you doing back here?" Casey asked  
"We moved back from Phoenix"  
"For good?" Severide asked  
"Hopefully, It depends about moms job, if they want her to move again"  
"Phoenix to Chicago. You're crazy, leaving there for the cold here"  
"I'm used to it" She joked

* * *

"So why'd you guys cut off contact for the last two years" Severide asked as Hannah sat on the edge of his bed in his office while Severide lent on his desk  
"You know that was mom, not me"  
"Yeah"  
"I don't know why, her new boyfriend is a bit weird"  
"As in how?"  
"Over protective"  
"Does your mom know you're here?"  
Hannah bit her lip  
"Hannah" He asked sternly  
"No" She said quietly  
"Why?"  
"Because if she knew she wouldn't be happy"  
"What do you mean"  
"It's not mom that's the problem, its Cooper"  
"The boyfriend"  
"Yeah, he just has this thing about other men. He's worried he'll lose mum to you"  
"Well we do have a kid"  
"Yeah and that's the problem"  
"How?"  
"I dunno, but it doesn't matter" Hannah said trying to change the subject "So you're still working with Casey"  
"Yeah"  
"How longs that. 14 years" Hannah asked "Surprised you two can still stand each other"  
"Why do you think he's on truck and I'm on squad" Kelly laughed  
Hannah laughed "What about Darden, you guys scare him away?"  
"He died, about 18 months ago"  
Hannah went quiet "I'm sorry dad"  
"It's OK, it was an accident"  
Hannah's phone began to ring in her pocket  
"Mom" She said pulling it out of her pocket  
"Answer it" Said Kelly  
"She's going to kill me" Said Hannah before she answered the phone  
"Hi mom" She answered  
 _"Where are you Hannah?"  
_ Hannah looked at Severide. He raised his eyebrow  
"At 51"  
 _"The firehouse"  
_ "Yeah, with dad"  
 _"You stay there, I'm coming to get you"_ Katherine said hanging up the phone  
"What'd she say?"  
"That she's coming to get me"  
"She sound happy"  
"Nope" Hannah said as she forced a smile  
"What aren't you telling me Han?" He said sitting next to her  
"You're going to find out anyway" She said "Mom put in for a transfer back to Chicago but she told Cooper that they were making her come here"  
"Why?"  
"Well Nan and pop aren't getting any younger, and pop hasn't been too well lately but Cooper doesn't like Chicago"  
"Because of the history you guys have with here"  
"Yeah, and now Cooper's pushing for a transfer for mom to go back to Phoenix"  
"How? How can he do that"  
"He's some hot shot lawyer that mom worked with. He's the biggest prick in history"  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that"  
"Trust me, you put up with him for 5 minutes and you'll be saying the same"  
Kelly laughed  
"You know mom hasn't gotten over you. She says if she didn't have to move to Phoenix in the first place she probably would have said yes" Hannah explained "But she didn't want you to give up on what you worked hard for"  
"I probably could have got transferred firehouses"  
"Yeah but you just made squad, you made history at 23" Hannah smiled "I don't hate either of you for it"  
There was a silence  
"Besides the four weeks I got to spend with you each year were the best part of the year"  
Kelly laughed "Remember when we spent a week next to the lake in the middle of January"  
"Yeah and you only brought three tins of propane, the small ones for the cooker"  
"Hey I wasn't the one who dropped half the blankets and matches in the lake"  
"I wasn't the silly one who put them in the same bag, you usually had a lighter anyway, and you gave it to an 8-year-old"  
"That was freezing that week"  
"Tell me about it, surprised I still have all my toes"  
"Yeah then you spent the next week with the flu"  
"Yeah mom wasn't impressed when I got home"  
"Is she ever"  
"She has a good poker face, what do you expect from a paralegal. That's her thing"  
There was a knock at the door  
"Yeah" Said Severide  
Casey opened the door "Katherine's here to get Hannah"  
"Thanks" Severide replied  
"Great, going to get my butt kicked. The joy of living with two lawyers"  
"A paralegal and a lawyer"  
"Yeah but you know mom" Hannah joked  
The two of them walked out the AP floor where Katherine was waiting  
"Hannah" She said "Get in the car"  
"See you dad" Hannah said hugging Severide  
"I love you" Said Severide  
Hannah walked over to the car  
"So were you going to tell me you were back?" Kelly asked  
"We weren't, Look we didn't expect to be here any longer than 6 weeks but well be going back in about a month, hopefully less"  
"I this is not what you want, you hated anywhere over 100 °F"  
"I learnt to deal with it"  
"I know you put in for the transfer here, and Cooper is forcing you to go back"  
"Hannah" Katherine said unimpressed  
"At least let me keep seeing Hannah while you're still here. Please"  
Katherine nodded her head "OK, But I'm sorry we have to leave"  
"Alright then, but can things go back to the way they were?"  
"I dunno" Katherine replied "Thanks Kelly"


	3. Headlong toward disaster

"Come on, hurry up" Kelly teased as Hannah ran toward him, with her school bag swishing from side-to-side.  
"Come on dad, you're not drilling cadets today" She said as she opened the car door.  
"Yes boss" He laughed "How was school today?"  
"I think I learnt something today" Hannah sarcastically questioned  
"Oh yeah? What'd you learn" Severide asked  
"That the capital of America is Washington D. C." She joked  
"Is that what they're teaching you in the 9th grade?"  
"No they're trying to teach us psychology"  
"Trying to?"  
"Let's just say they're not very successful at the moment"  
"Psychology? Really?"  
"Yeah" Hannah replied  
"Why?"  
"Well wanting to know why people start fires is interesting"  
Kelly laughed "So what do you want to do this afternoon?"  
Hannah looked at him confused  
"Go fish off Navy Pier?" He asked  
Hannah looked at him  
"Come on, its autumn"  
"Last time we went fishing you didn't have the patience for it" Hannah laughed  
"Last time was winter" Severide replied "anyway, I've got a surprise for you" Severide said starting the car.

* * *

"I thought you didn't want to go fishing" Hannah questioned as they pulled up near a jetty.  
"Correction. You didn't" Severide added  
"What surprise could be waiting here?"  
"An old one"  
"Old?" Hannah questioned as she got out of the car  
"Yeah, but don't tell him I said that"  
Hannah looked at him confused as she followed him as they walked along the jetty  
"Don't look at me like that" He laughed  
Hannah laughed and shook her head  
"Hey Banana!" She heard someone yell out  
"Pop?" She questioned  
"Surprise" Said Kelly  
"Severide Senior" Hannah yelled as she ran towards Benny  
"Hey Severide Junior" He laughed as he knelt down to hug her  
"What are you doing here?"  
"Fishing and I thought I'd come and see my only grand-daughter" He said  
"Too bad mom and I aren't staying for long"  
"Why not?" He asked  
"Mom's moving back to Phoenix"  
"Oh well we better enjoy it while it lasts then eh"  
"OK" Hannah smiled  
"I'll come back and get you later" Kelly said "Your mom was pretty stern on you being back by 6"  
"See you later dad"

* * *

"So why is your mom moving back to Phoenix?" Benny asked as he and Hannah sat and ate their ice creams  
"She's being transferred back" Hannah replied  
"Back?"  
"Yeah she got transferred here now she's going back"  
"Why?"  
"Cooper doesn't like it here" Hannah replied "But he's a jerk anyway"  
"Don't let your dad hear that"  
"He's already heard it and I think he'd agree"  
"So why don't you like Cooper?"  
"Because he's Cooper, he's not Kelly. He's not my dad"  
"Well why don't you move here with your dad"  
"Because then Cooper won't let me see mum and he won't let her see me"  
"He can't do that"  
"He's the reason Mom's being transferred back to Phoenix"  
"Why don't you move in with dad here?"  
"Then I won't be able to see mom"  
"Why?"  
"Cooper won't let her"  
"How can he do that?"  
"He just can"  
"Well why don't both of you try to move, together?"  
"We tried. It didn't work" Hannah said distantly "He has power over her"  
"Has he ever hit her?" Benny asked  
"No" Hannah quickly replied "Never"  
Benny sat there unsure.  
"He just doesn't like it when it doesn't go his way"  
"Bad quality to have when you're a lawyer" Benny laughed  
"Yeah" Hannah replied  
Benny put his arm around his grand-daughter as they looked out at the ocean.

* * *

"See you soon?" Benny asked as he hugged Hannah  
"Maybe, if we haven't left yet" Hannah replied "Love you pop" She said as she got in the car  
"Kelly, I think there's something you need to know"  
"What?" Kelly asked  
"Hannah and I were talking about Cooper. Do you know if he's ever hit Katherine or Hannah?"  
"No, Why?"  
"She said her and Katherine tried to leave once but Cooper stopped them"  
"I wouldn't know, I've never met him"  
"Yeah, it's just something seems off" Benny replied  
"I'll keep an eye out" Kelly said patting him on the shoulder, "Thanks dad"  
Kelly got in the car  
"So what you and dad talk about?" Kelly asked  
"Not much" Hannah said putting her bag in the back "I didn't know you had a half-sister"  
"Yeah, Katie. Well neither did I till a few years ago" Kelly laughed  
"What's she like?"  
"A lot like you actually"  
"Is she still in Chicago?"  
"No she lives in Colorado as a chef"  
"Oh a chef. She teach you how to cook?"  
"Hey, I'm not that bad"  
"I'm surprised you never gave anyone at 51 food poisoning when you were a candidate"  
"Hey I can cook two things, the most important; Bacon and eggs and -"  
"-And two-minute noodles" Hannah interrupted "Yeah I remember, It's really the only thing we lived off on the holidays" She laughed  
"At least it was something" Kelly laughed  
Hannah's phone buzzed. She took it out of her pocket and looked at the screen  
"Great" Hannah quietly mumbled to herself  
"What?" Kelly questioned  
"Mom's stuck at work, she won't be home till late"  
"You want to stay at mine tonight? I don't start shift till 8 tomorrow morning"  
"Nah, she'll only be a few hours late, Coopers there anyway"  
"You sure, or I can drop you off later"  
"No it'll be fine" Hannah said, forcing a smile

* * *

"You going to come to the firehouse tomorrow afternoon?" Kelly asked as he parked out the front of Hannah's house  
"Yeah" She smiled  
Hannah and Kelly got out of the car, Hannah got her bag out of the back of the car.  
"See you tomorrow then" Kelly said hugging Hannah  
"Love you dad" She replied  
Hannah put her bag over her shoulder and began to walk towards the house. She saw the front door open and Cooper come walking out. Hannah stopped.  
"Han?" Kelly questioned walking up to her  
"Hannah don't you know how to read the time"  
"15 minutes late, so what" She replied  
"Get inside your mothers waiting for you"  
"But mom's still-"  
"Just get inside" He repeated  
"Hey, you leave her alone" Kelly added  
"Thanks for dropping Hannah off but you don't need to come around here anymore"  
"I can do what I want, Hannah's my daughter"  
"Look were leaving for Phoenix in a few weeks so I'd appreciate it if you left us alone"  
"I'll leave my daughter alone when Hannah and Katherine tell me to" Kelly replied  
"Well _I'm_ telling you. Leave them both alone, it will be easier for Hannah when we leave"  
"But is it what Katherine and Hannah want?"  
"I don't need to talk to you about this" Cooper said walking away  
"You know what, I know you're bad news for them"  
"I'm bad news?" He questioned "Where were you when Katherine moved to Arizona"  
"That was a mutual agreement" Kelly yelled "You know nothing of what happened back then, so don't make me the bad one"  
Kelly got in his car and slammed the door shut.


	4. On The warpath

"Where are you going?" Cooper yelled as he slammed the door shut behind him "Hannah!"  
"The hell away from you" Hannah shot back as she turned around and came back down the stairs  
"Don't you speak to me like that" He said, getting annoyed  
"I don't care"  
"I've had enough of this Hannah"  
"And you don't think I haven't for the last 4 years" She questioned "You can't just walk in and act like my dad and treat mom the way you do"  
"I've been more of a father to you than he ever has"  
"You don't know shit!" She yelled back  
"I know that jerk left you and your mother to move to Phoenix by yourselves"  
"And what you're the big hero who _saved_ mom, you know nothing" Hannah yelled "And _my_ dad is not a jerk, he actually cares about us"  
"And I don't!?"  
"No, all you care about is yourself and where you can get yourself. Like in bed with other women"  
Cooper eyes narrowed and his fists began to clench "That's a lie"  
"Is it, what about when they used to show up at our front door in Phoenix and the secret phone calls you would hide from mom"  
Cooper said nothing.  
"Maybe now mom might believe me" Hannah snarled  
"you're one smart ass remark away from getting it" Cooper argued, annoyed  
"What are you going to do about it?" Hannah replied, believing she was invisible  
Cooper ran towards the staircase. Hannah turned around and ran up to her room, she began to panic knowing what he was capable of. She ran towards her room and tried to shut her bedroom door behind her, but before she had a chance Cooper was on the other side trying to keep it open.  
"Get away from the door Hannah" He said, angrily  
"No" She cried  
In one swift push, Cooper put all his weight into the door, the edge hitting Hannah on the side of her face knocking her out of the way causing her to fall to the ground. Hannah quickly picked herself up of the floor  
"Leave me alone" She cried  
"I thought you were smarter than this Hannah. But then again you are _his_ daughter" He said backing her up to the wall  
"At least I'm nothing like you" She replied, hurt about what he said about Kelly  
Cooper put his forearm under Hannah's neck, pinning her to the wall. Hannah began to panic. She looked across at her bed and saw he phone in the side pocket of her bag, just out of her reach. She looked back at Cooper.  
"Do you have any idea of how hard the last 3 months have been, how you're just making it harder" He yelled  
"You brought it all on yourself" Hannah replied blankly  
Cooper began to grit his teeth. He pushed her against the wall, harder. She began to struggle to breathe. She could feel herself getting dizzy. She saw the time on her alarm clock, any minute now her mom would be home, to save her.  
"You're threats don't work anymore, you're all talk. Do what you want to me, but don't you lay a finger on my mom" Hannah threatened, showing her inner Severide  
There was a noise from down stairs. Hannah looked towards her bag again  
"Hannah? Cooper?" Katherine called out "You guys home"  
She looked back at Cooper and then at her bag. She tried to push herself away from the wall and out of Coopers grip. He felt her move and realized she was going for her phone. He tried to stop her. Hannah put her arm out and reached for her bag. Cooper tried to pull her away so she spun her other arm around and hit him in the face, causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground, making a loud thud. In the time she had Hannah reached for her phone and ran out her bedroom door and down the stairs  
"Mom!" Hannah cried as she ran down the stairs  
"Han? What's going on?"  
"Hannah!" Cooper yelled as he came down the stairs  
Hearing him coming Hannah ran for the front door to escape and call her dad. Her _real_ dad, the one who actually cared about her. Katherine turned around to follow her daughter.  
"No you don't" Cooper yelled as he reached for Katherine's hair and pulled her back. Katherine cried in pain. Hannah turned around and watched as Cooper pulled her mom by her hair and put her in a head lock.  
"You go any further out that door, and it will be the last time you see your mom" He threatened  
Hannah looked at her mom. She could see the fear in her eyes. Hannah closed the door behind her.  
"Good, now give me your phone"  
"No" Hannah replied  
"Now!" Cooper yelled  
"Just do it Hannah, please" Katherine begged  
Hannah hesitantly handed her phone to Cooper who, in a fit of rage, threw Katherine and Hannah's phone against the wall.  
"Mom!" Hannah yelled as she ran towards her mom.  
Cooper grabbed Hannah by the arm, pulling her back "Try a stunt like that again and it won't end so well" He threatened  
Hannah didn't say anything. Cooper let go of her arm and stormed out the front door. They heard a car's engine start in the driveway and speed off into the distance. Hannah crawled over to her mom, still sitting on the ground. "Mom. I'm sorry" Hannah cried hugging her mom  
"It's OK sweetie" She reassured, cradling her daughter.

 **The next morning.  
** Hannah walked up to her mom's bathroom. She saw through the half open door her mom standing in front of the mirror covering the bruises from the night before with makeup. Something she had become quite good at  
"Hey" Hannah said quietly as she stood in the door way  
"Sweetie" She said as she turned to face Hannah. She could see the half covered bruise on her mom's cheek, along with the others on her neck and arms  
"How are you going to hide those ones" Hannah asked, referring to the bruises on her arms  
"Good thing its cold today" She joked "What about you" She asked as she looked at the bruise on the side of Hannah's face  
Hannah didn't say anything  
"Here I'll put some make up on it for you" Katherine said, reaching for the foundation bottle  
"No" Hannah replied "It's about time people found out what he's really like"  
"Hannah. Please don't do this" Katherine begged  
"No. there's people here who can help us. Dad, pop, the police"  
"Hannah it'll be OK"  
"How can you say that, he could have killed us last night"  
"He's just stressed ok, and Kelly just tipped him over the edge I guess"  
"You can't keep making excuses Mom. He's not stressed, it's not dad, and it's just him. He's a control freak, he always has been"  
"Promise me you won't tell anyone" Katherine asked  
"I don't want him to hurt you anymore" Hannah said picking up her school bag and walking down the stairs  
"Hannah?" She heard her mom call out as she walked down the stairs.  
Hannah walked out the front door and began to walk to school. The cold air ran down the back of her neck so she pulled her old squad 3 beanie further over her ears and pulled her hood up over her head. She put her hands back in her pocket and continued on walking.

Katherine's phone began to vibrate along her desk as it rang. She looked down at it expecting it to be Hannah of Cooper, but unknown number took her by surprise.  
"Hello, Katherine speaking" She answered  
"Hello Katherine its Ms Willoughby, Hannah's teacher. I was just wondering as to why she hasn't come to school today?"  
"She left this morning, but I haven't heard from her yet" She replied  
"Do you want us to contact anyone"  
"No I'll call her father, she wasn't feeling well this morning so she might have gone to his today" Catherine lied  
"Ok, when you find her let us know please"  
"Will do" Katherine replied before she hung up her phone  
Katherine quickly dialled Hannah's number. There was no answer.  
"Han, when you get this call me please or your dad. Just let us know you're OK" She left on her messages  
She decided to call Kelly  
"Hello" A voice said on the other end on the line  
"Kelly, It's Katherine"  
"Katherine what's going on?" He questioned  
"You haven't seen Hannah today?"  
"No, I'm on shift today, what's going on?"  
"She didn't go to school this morning"  
"what happened?"  
"It's a long story, can you just try and call her, she's not answering my calls"  
"Yeah sure" Kelly replied before hanging up the phone

Kelly searched through his contacts for his daughter's number. He pressed dial and waited until she picked up the phone. No answer.  
"Han, can you call me please. You're not in trouble" Kelly said  
"what's going on" Capp asked as he sat at the table with Kelly  
"Han, Katherine said she skipped school today, and now she's not answering any of our calls"  
"She's just being a teenager, she'll come home tonight"  
"What would you know about teenagers Capp?" Kelly questioned "It's not like her to skip school"  
"A lot changes in two years Kelly"  
"Yeah, too much" He said to himself  
Kelly picked his phone up again and tried to call Hannah again  
 _"Hello_ " Hannah answered hesitant  
"Han, where are you" Kelly asked  
" _Don't worry, I'm OK"_ She replied  
"Just tell me where you are and I'll come and get you"  
" _Dad, I'm fine"_ She reassured  
"Just promise me you'll be OK"  
" _I'll be fine"_  
"I love you"  
 _"I love you too dad"_ Hannah said before she hung up the phone  
"She OK?" Capp questioned  
"I dunno" Kelly replied  
"I guess she's not the little six year old that used to boss us around on squad all those years ago"  
"No, she's not" Kelly smiled "I better let Katherine know"  
As Kelly picked up his phone the Firehouse alarm rang  
*Engine 51. Truck 81. Squad 3. Ambulance 61. House fire*  
Kelly got up out of his seat and jumped in the squad truck. Before he put his phone in his pocket he messaged Katherine  
 _"Han OK."_ He wrote.  
It played in the back of his mind, how she could be so distant. The day before she was so happy now she didn't want to talk to anyone.  
"Don't worry about it" Capp reassured Severide, from the back of the truck  
"Yeah, I know" Severide replied knowing he had to forget about his problems for the moment and focus on the job at hand.

* * *

As the trucks pulled into the fire house Severide saw someone sitting at the squad table, playing with Pouch. As they got close they could see who it was.  
"Hannah?" He called out as he got out of the squad truck  
Hannah turned around. Severide could see bruises on her face and her neck  
"What happened?" He questioned  
"Nothing" Hannah said looking the other way as Severide looked at the bruise on the side of her face  
"Han?" He questioned "Did this happen at school?"  
"No" She said quietly  
"Well then what happened" He asked again  
"Mom and I need help, we can't live there anymore"  
"Come with me" He said walking to his lieutenants quarters "Casey" He called out  
"Han what happened, why do you and Katherine need to leave" Kelly asked as Hannah sat on the edge of the bed and Casey closed the door behind him  
"Cooper wasn't in the best of moods after you left" Hannah said looking at Kelly  
"Cooper did this?" Casey questioned  
Hannah nodded her head  
"When?" Kelly asked  
"Last night after you dropped me off, I kind of got in an argument with him."  
"About what?"  
"Stuff, He didn't like some of the things I had to say so he pinned me against the wall"  
"What about the bruise on your face?" Casey asked  
"That was the door, he was trying to open it and I was trying to keep it shut"  
"What about your mom, was she home"  
"Not at the start, but then she got home and I tried to call you but he grabbed mom by the hair and threw her against the wall"  
"Is she OK?" Kelly asked  
"Yeah" Hannah said quietly  
"You want me to call Antonio?" Casey asked  
"No, call Erin. Might be better" Severide replied  
Matt went outside to call Erin, leaving Hannah and Kelly alone  
Kelly sat next to his daughter and put his arm around her "It's going to be OK" He reassured as he rested his chin on her head  
"How do you know that. Were never going to leave him" Hannah cried.  
"Because I know good people" He reassured

There was a knock at the door  
"Yeah" Kelly called out as he sat, hugging Hannah  
"Hey" Erin said as she walked in  
"Hey" Kelly replied  
"Matt told me what happened" She said to Kelly  
Hannah looked at Erin, then at Kelly  
"Hey Hannah, I'm Erin" She said, introducing herself "You want to tell me what happened?"  
Hannah look at Kelly  
"It's OK" He assured  
"I got in a fight last night."  
"Who with?"  
"Cooper, my mom's boyfriend."  
"What was it about?"  
"Probably something stupid" Hannah said quietly "He keeps trying to act like he's my dad, but he'll never be"  
Erin looked at Kelly  
"Hannah where's your mom at the moment?"  
Hannah shrugged her shoulders "At work most likely."  
"Yeah, she called me before" Kelly added  
"Can you call her, and get her to come here"  
"Yeah, sure" Kelly said going outside  
Erin looked at Hannah, pulling her jumper sleeves over her hands, looking down at them  
"You want to tell me what really happened?" Erin asked  
Hannah looked at her but didn't say a word  
"You can trust me Hannah"  
"I already told you"  
"I can tell you're hiding something"  
"We just had a fight and he pinned me against the wall, that's all"  
"Did he hurt your mom?"  
"He threw her against the wall, but" Hannah said trailing off  
"but what Hannah?"  
"He said if I tried a stunt like this again it won't end so well"  
"He threatened you?"  
"I deserved it though, I should have kept my mouth shut"  
"Hannah no one ever deserves to be treated like this" Erin explained "When your mom gets here we'll see what we can do"  
"No you can't let him know about this" Hannah said panicked "He'll do something crazy"  
"You guys will be OK"  
"He won't leave us alone"  
"We can get a restraining order so doesn't go near you guys again"  
"A piece of paper is not going to stop him"  
"It's more than a piece of paper Hannah, if he breaks the conditions he'll be locked up"  
Hannah didn't say anything.  
"We'll get through this, OK" Erin reassured  
Hannah nodded her head in agreement

"Kelly where is she?" Katherine asked as she walked up to the fire house  
"She's OK, she's in my quarters with Erin" Kelly explained  
"Erin?"  
"Yeah she's a detective from the 21st"  
"You called the cops" Katherine panicked  
"Just Erin" Kelly reassured "It'll be OK"  
"You don't know Cooper, if he finds out about this I don't want to think about what he's going to do"  
"Katherine he won't hurt you again, I promise" Kelly promised "Erin needs to ask you a few questions, come on" He said walking towards his quarters  
"Mom" Hannah said as Katherine and Kelly walked in  
"Hannah" She said hugging her  
"Mom I'm sorry"  
"Han this isn't your fault" Katherine reassured her  
"Hi Katherine, I'm Erin"  
"Hi"  
"Han you want to go hang with Matt or Pouch while we talk" Severide asked  
"OK" Hannah said as she went outside  
"Do you want to lay charges on Cooper for the assault?" Erin asked  
"No" Katherine replied "I don't want the police involved"  
"Katherine he assaulted you and Hannah, it's not safe for you guys to stay there"  
"If we leave I don't know what he'll do, we've got nowhere to go."  
"What about your parents?"  
"They only have one bedroom"  
"We can arrange emergency accommodation when and if you decide to leave"  
"When are you supposed to be moving back?" Severide asked  
"In about a month or so"  
"What if instead of leaving for Phoenix you guys stay here, I'll help you find an apartment"  
"That won't work"  
"It's worth a shot"  
Katherine sat there quietly  
"Where's Cooper now?" Erin asked  
"I don't know. He left last night and I haven't seen him since then"  
"OK, If anything happens, no matter how small, you give me a call" Erin said as she gave Katherine her card  
"Thanks" Katherine replied "I think Hannah and I should go home now"  
"Are you sure that's safe?" Kelly asked  
"He'll be OK"

"Come Hannah time to go home" Katherine asked as she walked into the Kitchen with Kelly  
"See you Pouch" Hannah said as she got up out of her chair "See you Brett, See you Borelli"  
"See you another day Han" Borelli replied  
"See you" Brett replied  
"Come on squirt, I'll walk you guys to the car" Kelly said as he put his arm around his daughter  
"Why can't I stay with you dad" Hannah asked  
"I working tonight"  
"But I can just hang with Brett and Borelli, they don't mind"  
"It's more complicated than that squirt"  
"Don't worry, we'll be OK" Katherine reassured as she unlocked the car  
"I love you" Said Severide as he hugged his daughter  
"I love you too dad" Hannah replied, not wanting to let go of her dad  
Hannah got in her mom's car, while Katherine stayed out to talk to Kelly  
"You sure it's safe to go back there?" Kelly asked  
"Yeah" Katherine replied, unsure "He'll have cooled down"  
"What about Hannah, you really want to take her back to that?"  
"She hide in her room I guess, she always does"  
"Katherine you don't have to go through this"  
"Hannah and I need to get on with our lives, and you do too. We're not what we used to be"  
"But we can try again, for Hannah"  
"She's good for you, Erin. Looks like she keeps you in line"  
"Erin and I, were not-"  
"You stay safe" Katherine said as she got in the car

"It'll be OK" Katherine said as her and Hannah pulled into the driveway and saw Cooper's car parked out the front  
Hannah didn't reply. The two of them got out of the car. Hannah walked behind Katherine as they walked up to the door.  
"Hey" Cooper said as they walked through the door  
"Hey" Katherine replied  
"I'm going to my room" Hannah said blankly as she ran up the stairs to her room  
"Don't worry about her, she's just being a teenager" Katherine joked hesitantly  
"I'm sorry about last night" Apologized Cooper "It won't happen again"  
"It's OK, you're stressed, we understand" Katherine lied  
Hannah stood at the top of the stairs, listening to their conversation. She knew he wasn't sorry, she knew this wouldn't be the last time it would happen. She walked in to her room and threw her bag on the ground, she sat on her bed with her head in her hands. She didn't want to be in this house but she didn't want to leave her mom. She thought of ways she could get her mom to leave but she knew they'd never work. If she wanted to get out of there she had to do it herself. She reached for her school bag and tipped everything out. She went over to her drawers and began to grab clothes and shove them in. She got her phone and her beanie along with a jumper. She ripped a page out of her school book and took a pencil out of her pencil case.  
"Mom," She began to write  
she hesitated as thought what to write. She looked at a photo on her pin-up board above her desk. She saw the many photos she had of her and her mom and Kelly, then just the photos of her with her mom or Kelly. Maybe running from it wasn't the tight idea, but how could she get her family back to the way it was. She needed help, her mom needed help to see what was really going on, but she knew she couldn't help people who didn't want to be helped. Something her dad taught her from a very young age.


	5. Leaders lead

"Your home early" Hannah questioned as she walked into the kitchen.  
"Work was quiet so I thought I'd come home early and make dinner" Katherine replied  
"Why?" Hannah asked  
"Does there have to be a reason?"  
"No" Hannah replied  
"Good, cause I need you to help me, peel those potatoes over there" Katherine asked as she opened the fridge  
"Sorry, I've got homework"  
"Han, It'll take you five minutes. Please"  
"Fine" Hannah replied as she put her school bag on the table  
"How was school?" Katherine asked as Hannah peeled the potatoes in the sink  
"School" Hannah replied  
"Did you miss much from yesterday?"  
"Not much, considering I'm already a month-and-a-half behind"  
"Maybe we should get someone to help you catch up"  
"What, like a tutor?"  
"Yeah"  
"No I can do it myself, they'll just confuse me more"  
"You sure"  
"Yeah, all the potatoes are done, I'll go to my room now"  
"Got you're notes out of your bag?"  
"No" Hannah replied like a child  
"Fourteen and I still have to remind you to get your notes out of your bag"  
"It's just for book week" Hannah said showing her the note "For Friday"  
"Got write it on the calendar" Katherine replied "Isn't Kelly on shift on Friday?"  
"Yeah" Hannah replied as she drew a red dot on the Friday as a reminder that her dad was on shift  
"What are you going to go as?"  
"I dunno" Hannah joked  
"How about you go as a fireman again"  
"Woman" Hannah corrected  
"Don't you mean girl" Katherine joked  
"Right, I'm going to go do my homework" Hannah said getting her school bag

As she walked back past the calendar something caught her eye. She saw written in black marker "Conference - Detroit" With a line crossed through three days. She knew it was when Cooper would be away. She picked up a note pad, wrote down the days and ripped the page off. Hannah ran up the stairs to her room. She threw her bag on her bed and began to search through a box on the other side of her room. She took a book out of the box and began to write in it. She then put it in her backpack along with the note. She got her jumper out of her cupboard and her scarf and beanie. Hannah picked up her bag and put it on her back. She then finally wrote a note to her mom. She left the note on her bed and went into her mom's room. She searched through her mom's bag looking for their ticket out of there. One she found it she put it in her jeans pocket knowing it was the safest place. Hannah quietly snuck out the front door hoping she wouldn't be seen by her mom.

LATER THAT NIGHT

"Hannah," Katherine called out as she walked up the stairs "Tea's ready sweetie"  
Katherine knocked on her bedroom door. "Hannah?"  
She opened the door to find Hannah gone. She went into her room to find her diary missing and a note left on her bed.  
"Mom, I know how we can get out of this. Trust me. Hannah"  
"Oh Hannah, what have you done" She said to herself  
Knowing Hannah's diary was missing Katherine quickly ran into her room and began to look through her bag. Gone. It wasn't there. Hannah had taken it.  
"Katherine" Cooper called out from downstairs, "Everything alright?"  
"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute" Katherine replied  
Katherine folded up Hannah's note and put it in her pocket, keeping it hidden from Cooper  
"Is everything OK?" Cooper asked as Katherine came back down the stairs  
"Yeah" Katherine replied  
"Where's Hannah?"  
"She's not feeling well, she's got a fever so she's just going to try and sleep it off" Katherine lied  
"Not contagious I hope"  
"I hope not" Katherine replied

"Well I've got some notes to look over for court tomorrow" Cooper said as he got up from the table "Thanks for dinner"  
"No problem" Katherine relied, distant.  
She began to pick up the plates and take them into the kitchen.  
"I'm just going to check on Hannah" She said as she walked up stairs.  
Katherine went into Hannah's room and got her phone out of her pocket.  
"Kelly?" She asked as Kelly answered his mobile  
"Katherine, what's going on?" He asked  
"Is Hannah with you?"  
"Nomism at Molly's. I haven't seen her since yesterday" he replied "What's going on?"  
"She was here when I got home from work and now she's gone"  
"What do you mean gone?" Kelly questioned  
"She's not in her room, her diary's missing and she left a note"  
"What'd it say?"  
"That she knows how we can get out of this"  
"What was in her diary"  
"Stuff"  
"What kind of stuff?"  
"Stuff about Cooper"  
"Look I'll go out and look for her" Kelly replied "You call me if she comes back"

Hannah's phone vibrated in her pocket. Dad. That made it the 5th missed call along with the 8 from her mom and 3 from home. She took the card she had taken from her mom's bag and began to read it. "Det. Erin Lindsay. 21st district Chicago." She put it back in her pocket and continued on walking. She got to a large building. She saw police written on the front. The place her dad told her to go if anything bad ever happened, or the nearest firehouse. She walked up the snow covered steps and went inside. She could feel the warmth as she walked in. She felt safe.  
"Can I help you?" A lady with grey hair asked behind the counter  
"Is a Detective Erin Lindsay here?" Hannah asked  
"Does she know you're coming"  
Hannah shook her head  
"What's your name sweetie"  
"Hannah. Hannah Severide"  
"Severide? As in firefighter Severide"  
Hannah nodded her head  
"Come with me"  
The two of them walked up some stairs to a closed glass door. She swiped a card and the doors unlocked and they went inside  
"Lindsay" She called out  
"Yeah" She replied as she got up from behind her desk and walked towards them  
"Someone here to see you"  
"Hannah?" She questioned  
"You said you could help"  
"Yeah" Lindsay replied "Come with me"  
They went out into the tea room and Hannah sat down at the table  
"You want a drink?" Lindsay asked  
"No I'm OK thanks"  
"You sure, I think there's some cocoa left unless Jay drank it all"  
"I'm OK"  
"Alright then" Lindsay replied as she sat down at the table with Hannah "It must have been cold out there"  
"A bit" Hannah replied  
"Your dad called me, he and your mom are worried about you"  
Hannah didn't reply  
"Why'd you run away? Did Cooper do something"  
"No" Hannah got her diary out of her bag and handed it to Lindsay "It's from the last two years"  
"And these were all Cooper?" She asked as she flicked through the pages  
"Yeah"  
Erin put the book down on the table and looked at Hannah.  
"Hannah I promised your dad I'd call him if you came here"  
Hannah nodded her head  
Erin took her phone out of her pocket and called Kelly  
"Kelly"  
"Erin have you found her?"  
"Yeah, she's here with me"  
"Is she OK?"  
"She's OK, she's just a bit cold" Erin replied looking at Hannah  
"Cooper hasn't touched her has he?"  
"No, he hasn't"  
"I'm heading there now, I'll be there soon"  
"OK" She replied hanging up her phone  
"Your dad's on his way in"  
Hannah didn't say anything  
Erin picked up the book again "Has your mom agreed to press charges against Cooper?"  
Hannah shook her head "Can mom get a restraining order against him?"  
"Hannah, it takes time for them to go through the courts, and if it happens you'll need somewhere to go"  
"But mom's too afraid to leave"  
"I'm sorry Hannah, but there's not much we can do. What if you lived with your dad"  
"I don't want to leave mom"  
"I'm sure your Mom's strong enough to leave if it gets bad again"  
Hannah didn't reply, instead she looked down  
There was a knock at the door  
"Erin?" Jay questioned as he opened the door  
"Yeah" She replied  
"Severide here"  
"Yeah, let him in"  
Jay moved out the way to allow Severide to walk through  
"Hannah"  
"Dad" She replied getting out of her chair and running up to him  
"I was so worried about you" He said hugging her  
"She's a clever girl, coming here" Erin added as she walked up to Severide and Hannah  
"Why'd you run away Han?" Severide asked  
"I don't want to live in that house anymore"  
Severide looked at Erin  
"She came to see if Katherine could get a restraining order against Cooper" Erin explained  
"Can she?"  
"If she wants, but it's a long process"  
"What would it take"  
"Time. But it'd be better if she had somewhere else to go"  
"Yeah" Severide said to himself "Han, go wait in the car for a second" He asked handing her the keys to the car  
"Ok" Hannah replied getting her bag "Thanks Erin"  
Erin smiled at Hannah as she walked out the door  
Severide let out a sigh "How long would it take?"  
"She could apply for and Emergency Restraining order which would give us enough time to get a plenary order, but they really need somewhere else to go"  
Severide looked at her puzzled. Erin turned around and picked up a book off the table  
"It's her journal, notes and images of things Cooper has done to them over the last two years. Physically and Emotionally"  
Severide took the books out of her hand and flicked through it  
"Just two pages from that book is enough to get an order against him"  
Severide nodded his head "Thanks Erin"  
"No Problem" She replied  
Kelly turned around and walked out the door. He got in his car. He looked at Hannah sitting in the passenger's seat. He put the book in front of her. She looked at it but didn't say anything  
"Why didn't you tell anyone you had this" Kelly asked  
"Mom knew"  
"Why didn't you show anyone sooner"  
"I don't know, I was too afraid I guess"  
"You knew I was a phone call away"  
"What could you do? You were on the other side of the country" Hannah replied  
"I could have tried" Severide replied "I'm taking you back to your mom's"  
"No, you can't" Hannah replied panicked "You what he's done, I can't go back there"  
"Hannah we've talked about this"  
"Please dad" Hannah begged, about to cry "Just for tonight, please"  
Severide thought for a second. He took his phone out of his pocket  
"Just for tonight then we'll talk to your mom tomorrow, but you need to call her and tell her" He said handing her the phone  
"About everything?" She asked  
"No" Severide replied "Just about you staying with me tonight"  
Hannah nodded her head. She unlocked the phone and called her mom  
"Mom" She said as Katherine answered the phone  
"Hannah where are you?"  
"I'm with dad" She said looking at him "I'm staying with him tonight"  
"What, why"  
"I can't go back there mom, we need to get out of there"  
"Let me talk to your dad"  
Hannah handed the phone to Kelly "She wants to talk to you"  
Severide took the phone out of Hannah's hand  
"Katherine"  
"Kelly what's going on?" Katherine asked  
"Hannah's staying with me tonight but _we_ need to talk tomorrow"  
"About what?"  
"About Cooper, It's not safe for you to stay there"  
"You know we can't leave, we have nowhere to go"  
"You do, and I can help you"  
There was a silence "Where do you want to meet?"  
"Lakefront, Tomorrow at 1"  
"OK" Katherine replied "Tell Hannah I love her"  
"Will do" Kelly replied before he hung up the phone  
"What'd she say?"  
"That she loves you" Kelly replied "And she's meeting us at one tomorrow. Which gives us time to make a plan" Kelly smiled  
Hannah's eyes grew brighter and she smiled back at her dad "Thanks dad"

"The only spare bed is the couch OK" Severide explained as he unlocked the door "And behave, remember Matt and Dawson live here to"  
"Yes dad" She replied as she walked inside  
"Hey Hannah" Dawson said as Severide and Hannah walked in "What are you doing here?"  
"I know its short notice, but Hannah's staying here tonight" Severide explained "I hope it's OK"  
"Yeah its fine" Casey added "Is everything OK at home?"  
"Not quite" Severide replied  
"Why don't you come with me Han and we'll make up the spare bed" Dawson said as she took Hannah into the lounge room  
"What's going on?"  
"Hannah ran away"  
"Why?"  
"She doesn't want to live in the house anymore" Severide explained  
"Why?"  
"She's scared Matt, and there's nothing I can do"  
"You'll figure something out, does Erin know?"  
"Yeah, that's where she went. She asked about a restraining order against Cooper"  
"Smart kid"  
"Yeah, not much she wouldn't know living with two lawyers"  
"Katherine's a lawyer?"  
"Paralegal" Severide corrected "We're meeting up with Katherine tomorrow"  
"What are you going to tell her?"  
"That there's a way out of there"  
"What have you got planned?"  
"I don't know, that's something we'll need to figure out tomorrow"

"Are you and Uncle Matt a couple?" Hannah asked as she helped Dawson make a make-shift bed on the couch  
Dawson hesitated "Not at the moment"  
"Why?"  
"It's a bit complicated with both of us working on 81 together but were making it work"  
"I wish mom and dad thought the same way"  
"Why did you and your mom move?"  
"Mom got offered a job at a firm and dad had just made squad, so neither of them really wanted compromise"  
"Fair enough, but at least they still kept in contact"  
"Only because of me, If I wasn't born mom would probably be married to Cooper"  
"I guess we'll never know"  
"Yeah, maybe that's a good thing" Hannah replied  
"So if you were still in Chicago when your dad made squad did you ever hang around the firehouse?"  
"All the time, almost every shift if mom had of let me"  
"Boden let a candidate have his kid at work with him" Dawson joked  
"Yeah, because most the time I was with Boden or bossing around everyone on squad and truck"  
"Casey included?"  
"Especially Uncle Matt" Hannah laughed "And Darden, they were the three trouble makers"  
"I would have never have guessed" Dawson joked "So you got any Goss on Casey?"  
"Yeah, but he swore me to secrecy?"  
"Why? Has he got something on you too?"  
"Maybe" She replied  
"Hey have you got any spare clothes?" Dawson asked  
"No, I didn't actually plan to stay with dad tonight"  
"That's OK, I might have an old t-shirt that might fit you"  
"OK" Hannah replied as Dawson went into her room  
"How about my candidate shirt, don't think I'll be needing it again, and some shorts"  
"Thanks" Hannah replied  
"Bathrooms in there if you want to get changed"  
"OK" Hannah said walking towards the bathroom  
"Where's Han?" Severide asked  
"In the bathroom getting changed"  
"Thanks for this"  
"For what?" Dawson asked  
"Letting her stay"  
"I doesn't matter, anytime. She's your kid" Casey added  
"Tada!" Hannah said as she walked out of the bathroom with Dawson's candidate shirt on  
"It fits" Dawson smiled  
"51 got a new candidate do we?" Casey joked  
"Maybe" Hannah laughed  
"I'm going to go to bed" Said Dawson  
"Me too" Matt replied  
"Goodnight" Dawson said as she walked towards her room  
"Goodnight" Severide and Hannah replied  
"I think it's time you go to bed too squirt" Severide said as he walked over to the couch  
"OK" Hannah replied as she crawled under the blankets  
"You know I love you, and your mom, and I'll do anything to help you"  
"Yeah I know dad, and I love you too"  
"Now go to sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow"  
"OK, goodnight dad"  
"Night squirt, I love you" He said as he kissed her on the forehead and walked towards his bedroom.


	6. Red Rag the Bull

"Morning squirt" Severide said as he sat in the lounge room watching TV  
"Where's Dawson and Matt?" Hannah asked, still half asleep  
"They had some things to do" He explained "You hungry?"  
Hannah nodded he head  
"Good, me too. There's some eggs and bacon in the kitchen" Hannah glared at him "Come on get cooking" He joked  
Hannah sat there confused "Really?"  
"I just kidding, its already cooked, theirs some left over if you want it"  
"Cool" Hannah said as she got out of her bed and ran into the kitchen  
"Hold on" Severide said as he reached for Hannah's arm as she ran past  
"What?" She questioned  
"Where's my hug?" He said pulling her towards him and hugging her  
"Dad" She whinged as she hugged him  
"What?" He questioned  
"I'm hungry!" She laughed as she tried to get out of his grip  
"No you're not" He laughed, still hugging her  
"Yes I am" She laughed as he let go and she went in to the kitchen  
"Remember were meeting up with your mom at 1" Severide reminded Hannah  
"Yeah at Lakefront" She replied  
"What do you think she's going to say?"  
"Dunno, one of her typical replies like "It'll get better" or "He'll change""  
"What about you, what do you want to do"  
"You know what I want to do but I can if Mom doesn't"  
"You don't know that"  
"You really think our plan could work without mom?" Hannah questioned as she sat back on the couch with her breakfast  
"We'll there might have to be a few alterations"  
"Yeah" Hannah replied as she began to eat her breakfast  
"Got enough hot sauce on that?" Severide questioned  
"Yeah" Hannah replied  
"You definitely grew up in a fire house" He laughed to himself  
"I'm not sure about other house's but definitely 51" Hannah replied

* * *

"Come on hurry up, or well be late" Severide called out as he looked for her keys  
"I'm ready" Hannah called back as she came out of the bathroom  
"Got your bag?" He questioned  
"Yeah" Hannah replied "Got your keys?" She asked as she dangled his keys in front of her  
"Where'd you hide them?"  
"Nowhere" Hannah laughed "You left them on the coffee table"  
"Right," Severide said to himself "Come on" He said opening the door  
Hannah walked outside, Followed by Severide who locked the door behind him  
"You got the plan?" Severide asked  
"Yep" She said taking the piece of paper out of her pocket  
"Good, let's go"

* * *

"Where exactly where we meeting mom?" Hannah asked as she got out of the car  
"At lake front" Severide replied  
"But its 18 miles long"  
"We'll just wait a few minutes then see where she is"  
"Alright then, or we could just call her"  
Severide thought for a second "Alright then" He said getting his phone out of his pocket  
He dialled Katherine's number and waited for her to answer.  
"Katherine" He said as she answered the phone "Where are you?"  
"Near the conservatory" She replied "Where are you"  
"Not far" He replied as he looked around "We'll see you soon"  
"Where is she?" Hannah asked  
"Conservatory" He replied  
"And you said were not that far?"  
"Well we have a car, don't we"  
"You are so not a thinker, you're a do-err"  
"Shut-up" Severide replied sarcastically  
"Shut up" Hannah mimicked as she got back in the car  
"There she is" Hannah said as they pulled up near the observatory "Mum!" Hannah called as she got out of the car and ran towards her  
"Hey sweetie" She replied as she hugged her "Don't you ever run away like that again"  
"I won't, I promise" She replied "But dad and I know a way out of this"  
Katherine looked at Hannah and Kelly confused "What do you mean?"  
"We can move out. We stay in Chicago, you can keep your job, I don't have to leave dad"  
"How?" Katherine asked "You and I can't move out, we won't be able to"  
"You can" Severide added "You guys can rent a house"  
"I'm not sure about this"  
"Mom just listen, dad and I have come up with a plan"  
"Ok, I'm listening"  
"Cooper's going to conference in Detroit for a few days and that's our chance" Hannah explained "That weekend we can move out"  
"To where?"  
"A house, away from Cooper"  
"Hannah we can't afford that"  
"But that's where dad comes in"  
All three of us move in together" Severide explained "Just till you guys are on your feet again"  
"We can be a family again. A real family" Hannah said with a bright smile  
That's all good and well but what about Cooper"  
We get a restraining order, just until he goes back to Phoenix"  
"You know he won't just leave like that"  
If you take away what he want then he'll have to" Severide explained  
"And what's that?" Katherine asked  
"Power" Said Severide "Once you leave his powers gone, you're no longer reliant on him"  
Katherine shook her head trying to think of something to say, but for once there was nothing, there was no excuse.  
"I, I can't say anything. This might actually work" Said Katherine  
Hannah smiled  
"Don't get too excited squirt, we've still got a lot to sort out"  
"I know. But I know we can do it. We always have"  
"Always?" Severide questioned  
"Well 80% of the time"  
"Hannah, where would we move to?"  
"That's still a working progress" Hannah replied  
"You think we can find somewhere in the next three weeks?"  
"Yeah" Hannah replied unsure  
"Look, Han go find a paper and we can start looking at apartments"  
"Isn't that what phones are for?" She asked  
"Just go find a paper squirt" He said giving her $3  
"Alright then" Hannah said walking the other way  
"We need to talk, don't we?" Katherine asked  
"Yeah" Severide replied "We do"

The two of them walked towards the entrance of the observatory  
"It's been good to see you and Hannah, I'm glad you came back to Chicago" Severide said as they walked through the flowers  
"I wish it was under better circumstances" Said Katherine  
"Yeah" Severide replied "You remember the summer I stayed at your house?"  
"How could I forget" She replied  
"That was probably the biggest turning point in my life, things could have gone a whole lot differently for me if your parents hadn't have taken me in"  
"That was me though, I talked to them and said I have this friend who has no place to live, and you know they always saw you as their second son"  
"Then the second biggest turning point in my life, when I found out I was going to be a dad"  
"Yeah" Katherine replied "that took a while for my parents to wrap their heads around"  
"Me too" He replied "I always wonder what would have happened if we stayed together"  
"We knew what we always wanted, You wanted to be a fire fighter and I wanted to be a lawyer"  
"That still could have happened if you stayed here"  
"It works both ways Kelly, you still could have become a firefighter if you came with us"  
"But you know what 51 meant to me" Kelly explained  
"I understand that but I never thought I'd be where I am now, I'm finally closer to being a lawyer"  
"What in a relationship with a jerk who beats you"  
"OK, maybe that's not a highlight but he wasn't like that when we first met"  
"What was he like?"  
"He was amazing, he loved me and Hannah" Katherine explained "Hannah had a male role model in her life"  
"But she had me, and my dad, and your dad"  
"But you were all on the other side of the country"  
"Doesn't mean we weren't there for her" Said Kelly "So what made him snap?"  
"You" Katherine explained "He knew I wasn't over you and we still shared so much"  
"What do you mean?" Kelly asked  
"I may have got the job I wanted but I regret that every day. Leaving you, taking Hannah away from her dad." Katherine explained  
"You know what this whole situations going to do to him" Said Kelly  
"It'll be like a red rag at a bull, he won't give up without a fight"  
"He's going to have to because there's no way he's going to hurt you and Hannah ever again, I promise"  
There was a silence  
"I still love you Kelly, I always have"  
"Katherine" Kelly replied  
"No Kelly, I want us to try again"  
"Katherine, you know I'll always love you guys and I'll always be there but I don't know if I can go there again"  
"Yeah" Katherine replied "I understand"  
"But I still love you, OK" He said hugging her and kissing her on the forehead  
"I love you too" She replied hugging him back


	7. Kind of a crazy idea

"How about that one?" Hannah asked as her and Kelly looked through apartments in the paper  
"Too Small" He replied  
"It has two rooms" Hannah Replied "Its only for you, mom and I"  
"How about I let you know when I find it" He replied  
"Severide probably too used to living in the firehouse" Capp joked to Hannah  
"Probably" Hannah joked back  
"I can still hear you two" Kelly replied  
Hannah laughed to herself  
"Severide! Casey! My office, now!" Boden announced as he stood in the doorway  
"Someone's in trouble" Hannah teased  
"Shut up chicken head" Severide joked as he got up from the table  
Hannah rolled her eyes at her dad. She picked up his paper and looked through the apartments  
"If you're really Severide kid why didn't he mention it before?" Otis asked  
"If you really want to look smart, why do you open your mouth Otis?" Hannah replied  
"Well he's never said anything about a kid" Otis replied  
"Well I'm sure Borelli wouldn't tell you if he had a sibling or something" Hannah replied  
"How'd you know I had a brother?" Borelli asked  
"I didn't, I was just guessing" Hannah replied  
"OK, How long has your dad been a firefighter?" Otis asked  
"14 years, but if you ask him he'd say since the day he was born"  
"What age did he make squad?"  
"23"  
"Come on Otis they have to be harder than that" Cruz added  
"Alright then, what's his badge number?" Otis asked  
"1751" Hannah said straight out  
"No way, you've stalked him or something"  
"He's my dad, of course I know these things" Hannah said "And it's my birthday"  
"What, Today?" Borelli questioned  
"No. 1751. 17th of May 2001"  
"That's got to be a joke"  
"What's a joke?" Casey asked as he walked back in  
"Hannah says her birthday is the same as Severide badge number"  
"Yeah 17th of May 2001, 1751" Casey replied "I remember it like yesterday"  
"You were there?" Hannah asked  
"No, but I do remember seeing this scrawny thing that looked like a bald chicken"  
"Please stop now Uncle Matt" Hannah cried as she buried her head in the paper, trying to hide  
"What's the matter chicken? Embarrassed?" Otis teased as he pretended to sound like a chicken  
"Shut up" Hannah replied  
"Chicken" Otis and Cruz continued to tease.  
An alarm echoed throughout the house

 _*Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Engine 51, Battalion 25. House Fire*_

Everyone cleared out of the common room to their trucks. Severide came out of Bodens office and went past Hannah.  
"Behave Squirt" He said as he went past  
"What does that mean?" Hannah joked

As Hannah continued to write in her notebook Pouch sat up and looked around.  
"What's going on girl?" Hannah asked "Can you hear the trucks?"  
Hannah got out of her chair and followed Pouch out to the AP floor as Truck, Squad and Engine pull in.  
Pouch barked and ran up to Truck  
"Hey squirt" Kelly said as he got out of the Squad Truck  
"Hey dad" She said as she hugged him  
"Hey, where's mine?" Capp asked  
"Pouch is somewhere" Hannah joked back  
"Oh" Capp replied, disappointed  
"So you find any apartments?" Kelly asked  
"A few" Hannah replied  
"Well come on show me"  
"Come on then, there in your quarters" Hannah said grabbing Kelly by the hand and walking towards his quarters  
"Alright" Kelly said as Hannah dragged her along  
Hannah opened the door and went over to the bed  
"Here" She said as she handed him a piece of paper  
"Wow, you have been doing a lot"  
"Well you guys were gone for three hours" Hannah replied  
"Fair enough" Kelly replied as he sat on the bed next to Hannah "Why's that one circled in red?"  
"That's my favourite" Hannah replied  
"It's a house?" Kelly replied  
"I know what you said about only apartments but it's not that much" She replied  
"What do you mean?"  
"OK, I know this is kind of a crazy idea but it's only $110,000"  
"Only?" Kelly replied "Han we can't afford a house"  
"But we can pay it back like a rental" She replied  
"It doesn't work that way Han"  
"It does if Connie's selling it"  
Kelly looked at her confused  
"Connie inherited a house from her Aunt and she's trying to get rid of it" Hannah explained "But it needs a bit of work"  
"How much is a bit?"  
"It's still liveable it has three rooms but it's more just the appearance that needs work"  
"Like what?"  
"Nothing Uncle Matt can't do"  
"Hannah?!" Kelly replied  
"Some painting, and maybe a new door or two"  
Kelly raised an eyebrow at Hannah  
"Just go ask Connie and she'll tell you everything"  
"Hannah a house is a big responsibility between your mom and I"  
"I know that"  
"And the original plan was we find a rental till you and your mom are back on your feet"  
"But I don't want to leave you again"  
"No one's leaving anyone"  
"Well if we're all going to live in Chicago why don't we live in the same house, as a family"  
Kelly didn't reply  
"Can you just talk to Connie about it, please" Hannah said as she walked out of the room

"What's the matter squirt" Casey asked as he walked up to Hannah throwing the ball to Pouch  
"Nothing" She replied  
"Come on, I know that face"  
Hannah stopped what she was doing and looked at Casey "It's this whole house thing"  
"Why, what's happened"  
"Dad just wanted an apartment so he could leave later, no commitments" Hannah explained "But I want them to get a house so we can be a family again"  
"Hey you guys will always be a family, living apart doesn't make it any different"  
"But I don't want it to be just mom and I, I want it to Mom, _Dad_ and I"  
"Maybe your mom and dad are just at different stages"  
"Their not, the both admit they still love each other but won't say it, and then deny it when I ask them"  
"Han I don't even think your dad knows what he wants" Casey replied "But you three need to talk and figure it out"  
"You know dad, when his minds made up it made"  
"Yeah, I've known that since the first day at the academy" Casey replied  
"I've known it since the day I was born"  
"I've known it longer" Casey joked as he tackled Hannah for the ball  
"Yeah right Uncle Matt" Hannah laughed  
"I have, now give me the ball" He said

Hannah knocked on the door frame of Kelly's quarters  
"Hey Squirt" He said  
"Hey dad" She replied "Mom's here, I'm going to head home"  
"Come here" He said with his arms open wide  
Hannah went over to Kelly  
"I'm sorry" He said hugging her "How about tomorrow after shift your mom and I talk about it  
"That'll be good" Hannah smiled  
"I love you" Ha said as he kissed her on the forehead  
"I love you too" Hannah replied as she hugged her dad again

"How was it?" Katherine asked as Hannah got in the car  
"Alright, dad and I found a house"  
"A house?" Katherine replied  
"Yeah" Hannah replied "You just need to talk to dad about it"  
"How'd he react to it"  
"How do you think" Hannah replied "But I think he's coming around to it"  
"Could we afford it?" Katherine asked  
"Yeah, Connie's selling it and she said we can pay her back a bit each week"  
"So you have it planned"  
"You know me mom" Hannah laughed  
"Don't I just" She replied

"So what's for dinner?" Hannah asked as Katherine pulled up in the drive way  
"What do you want?"  
"KFC" Hannah replied  
"Nice try, how about chicken, salad and chips"  
"What about Chicken, Chips and Salad" Hannah said as she got out of the car  
Katherine looked at her confused  
"In order of importance"  
"Then shouldn't it be Chips, Chicken and Salad?"  
Hannah thought for a second "Probably"  
Katherine laughed as her and Hannah walked up to the front door. Katherine's phone began to vibrate.  
"Katherine Anderson" She said as she answered it "Yeah sure, I'll be there soon"  
"Who was it?" Hannah asked  
"Work, they need me to go back and help finish a few case files"  
Hannah let out a big sigh "Can you drop me off at the fire house?"  
"Han It'll only be an hour or so" Katherine replied  
"You promise?" Hannah asked  
"I promise" Katherine replied "How about I bring you home some chicken strips"  
"OK" Hannah smiled  
"I'll be back soon" Katherine replied as she walked back towards the car  
Hannah opened the front door and went inside.  
"Where's your mom going?" Cooper asked as Hannah closed the door  
"Back to work" Hannah replied as she headed for the stairs.  
Hannah put her back pack on the couch and took her phone out of her pocket before she went upstairs to her room. She half closed the door behind her and went and sat on her bed. She heard footsteps come up the stairs, she took her eyes off her phone and looked towards the door way, expecting Cooper to walk past.  
"What's this?" He asked as he stood in the doorway  
"You went through my bag?" Hannah questioned  
"What is it!" Cooper yelled  
"Apartments" Hannah replied, scared  
"Why are you looking at apartments?" He asked  
"For dad"  
"Don't bullshit me"  
"I'm going to live with my dad" Hannah lied, trying to protect her mom  
"No you're not, you know you and your mom aren't allowed to leave"  
"You can't stop me"  
Cooper closed the door behind him "I mean it"  
Hannah stood on the other side of her bed, not knowing what to do  
"You're not going anywhere"


	8. Better to Lie

"Hey Han its dad, call me back when you get this" Kelly said as he walked out to his car  
"Hannah still not picking up?" Casey questioned as he and Dawson walked out to their car  
"Nah" Severide replied  
"Maybe she's at school already, or just left her phone at home" Dawson added  
"Maybe" Severide said as he unlocked his car  
"You coming back to the apartment" Casey asked  
"Nah I've got a house to look at"  
"Connie's?"  
"Yep" He replied as he got in his car  
before he could start the car his phone began to ring. Hannah.  
"Han?" He questioned as he answered the phone  
" _Hey Dad_ " She replied  
"Shouldn't you be at school today?"  
" _I didn't go"  
_ _"_ Why?" Severide questioned  
 _"_ _I wasn't feeling well_ "  
"Is mom home?" He asked  
" _No she's at work, Cooper too_ "  
"I'll come get you, you can spend the day with me"  
" _No it's OK, I'm fine by myself_ "  
"Is everything OK?"  
" _Yeah, its fine_ " Hannah lied  
"Alright then, I'm going to go look at the house then I'll call you back"  
" _OK, have fun_ " Hannah replied before hanging up the phone  
Hannah put the phone down on her bed and walked into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. She could see the bruises. She lifted up the side of her shirt to see a large dark purple bruise under her ribs. She carefully touched it and flinched form the pain. They were getting worse. She struggled to breathe. She was scared. She didn't know where to go. She didn't know what to do. Go to her dad? Erin, only to have her mom take her home again. She was worried that no matter where she went, she'd never be safe. Hannah went back to her room and got her school bag. She began to throw her clothes in, photos, everything. Packing up and running away had become a common occurrence for her lately. She put her bag on her back and ran down the stairs. She pulled her hood up and walked out the front door. She took her phone out of her pocket. Dad? Erin? Who could she call? Casey? Dawson?  
She pressed dial and put the phone to her ear  
"I need help" Hannah asked "It's gotten worse"  
"Where are you?"  
"At home"  
"Stay there I'm coming to get you"

Erin's car pulled up out the front while Hannah sat near the front door.  
"Hannah?" She questioned as she got out of the car  
Hannah ran down the steps and wrapped her arms around Erin.  
"It's OK" Erin reassured while Hannah cried in her arms  
"You want to tell me what happened" Erin asked  
"Cooper just snapped"  
"Did he do this?" Erin asked as she looked at the bruise on Hannah's cheek  
Hannah nodded her head  
"Come on, I'll take you to the hospital"  
"No" Hannah replied quickly  
"What about the fire house?"  
"Dad's shift finished this morning, sometimes it's better to lie"  
"Not about this Hannah"  
"I don't want him to know what Cooper did, He'll kill him"  
"You don't know that Hannah" Erin reassured "I'll take you back to the district, we can call your dad from there"

The 21st district was busy. Hannah finally had a chance to hide from everything, be invisible for a moment. She went upstairs with Erin. It was quieter. Only Ruzek, Antonio and Jay.  
"Hey Erin, I need your help with something" Ruzek asked as Hannah and Erin walked pas  
"Not now Adam, I'm busy" she said as she walked past  
Jay watched as Hannah and Erin went into Voight's office.  
"So why didn't you call your dad" Erin asked  
"Because he'll go all Kelly on this"  
"He'll find out eventually"  
"I know but it will be better if he hears it from you"  
Erin looked at her confused.  
"There's very few people who he listens to, and you're one of them"  
There was a knock at the door. Jay opened it and stuck his head in.  
"Can we talk" he asked  
"Not now jay" Erin replied  
Jay looked at her  
"Just wait here a minute hand" Erin said as she walked out  
"What do you want jay" Erin asked  
"Did cooper do that to her?"  
"Jay just stay out of this" Erin demanded  
"It was, wasn't it"  
Erin ignored him  
"You're just going to let him get away with this, again"  
"You know it's not up to me jay, it's up to her mom and dad"  
Jay thought for a second "you do something Erin or I will"  
Erin went back into Voight's office as Jay walked away. She sat down next to Hannah.  
"What do you want to do about this?" She asked  
"I want to get out of there, away from him"  
"What about pressing charges?"  
"No" Hannah replied quickly "He'll kill mom"  
"Hannah you can't let him get away with this"  
"You let him last time"  
"That was your mom, and look what's happened"  
Hannah didn't reply.  
"I'm going to call your dad"  
Hannah didn't say anything.

"Erin where is she?" Kelly asked panicked as he met with her out the front district.  
"She's upstairs with Jay"  
"Did he touch her?"  
Erin nodded her head  
"She alright, just a bit scared"  
"I knew I shouldn't have let her go back there" Kelly said to himself  
"Hannah won't let me press charges against cooper"  
"Of course she won't, she's looking out for her mom"  
"How long till you find a house?"  
"You know about that?" Kelly questioned  
"Hannah told me you were looking at a house today"  
"Yeah" Kelly replied as he looked off distantly  
"Hey, Kelly"  
Erin's voice brought him back to earth  
"Hannah's going to be fine, we'll sort this out"  
"Yeah" Kelly replied

Jay knocked on the door before he went in.  
"Hey Hannah" He said as he walked in  
"Hey" She replied quietly "Where's Erin?"  
"She's outside with your dad" He said as he sat next to her  
"Does he know?"  
"I don't know, probably"  
Hannah sat there quietly  
"Do you want to press charges"  
Hannah looked down and shrugged her shoulders  
"Hannah you can't let him get away with this, he c-"  
"-I don't want him to kill my Mom!" Hannah yelled  
Jay sat there quietly  
"You don't know what he's capable of" Hannah explained, beginning to cough  
Hannah groaned  
"Hannah what's wrong?" Jay questioned  
"I can't, I can't breathe" She said doubled over "My rib"  
Jay shifted Hannah's shirt to reveal a dark purple bruise  
"Just try and take deep breathes"  
Hannah shook her head  
"Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital" He said helping her up  
"Olinsky! Adam!" Jay yelled but no one came  
Hannah still struggled to breathe as she walked to Jay's car  
Jay got his phone out of his pocket and tried to call Erin  
Erin's phone buzzed in her jacket pocket, she took it out to see who was calling her. Jay. She ignored it and put it back in her pocket.  
"Erin call me back when you get this, I'm taking Hannah to the hospital" He said as he started the car  
He watched as Hannah slowly began to drift in and out of consciousness  
"Hannah stay awake for me, please" He asked as he headed towards the hospital  
Hannah coughed quietly.  
Jay got his phone and called Will.  
"Jay what's up?" Will asked  
"Somethings wrong with Hannah"  
"Wrong as in how?"  
"We were talking then she started coughing and she couldn't breathe and she's got a massive bruise under her ribs"  
"OK it's probably a collapsed lung, how is she now?"  
"She's drifting in and out" Jay explained "Were on our way to the hospital now"  
"Does Kelly know?"  
"No, He's with Erin and she's not answering her phone"  
"OK, I'll meet you when you get here, drive safe"  
"Yep" Jay replied hanging up the phone

Erin knocked on Voight's office door with Severide behind her  
"Hannah?" She questioned as she opened the door  
the room was empty  
"Hannah?" Erin questioned  
"Where is she?" Kelly questioned  
"I don't know" Erin replied "Jay?"  
She got her phone out of her pocket and called Jay back  
"Erin" He said as he answered the phone  
"Where's Hannah?"  
"She's with me, were at the hospital"  
"Why, what's wrong?"  
"She's got a collapsed lung from the rib fracture"  
"Were on our way" She said before she hung up  
"What's going on?" Kelly asked  
"Jay's taken Hannah to the hospital" Erin explained "She's got a collapsed lung"  
"What? Why?"  
"She had a fractured rib"  
"From Cooper?"  
"Yeah" Erin replied

"Do you know how it happened?" Will asked Jay  
"Shouldn't you be asking Hannah this" Jay replied  
"I will, but I want to hear what you know"  
"Not much, Just that it was Cooper that did it"  
"Katherine's boyfriend?"  
"Yeah" Jay replied  
"Jay you know I've got to report this"  
Jay sighed  
"If I let it slide I could go to jail"  
"I know" Jay replied "Someone has to"  
They were interrupted by Erin and Kelly walking in.  
"Where is she?" Kelly asked  
"She's at X-ray at the moment"  
"Is she OK?"  
"She's fine, we re-inflated the lung and she's breathing fine, but she'll need to stay overnight for observation"  
"What about her Asthma"  
"It's OK"  
"Can I see her"  
"I'll let you know when she gets back" Will said before he walked away  
"Thanks" Said Jay  
"He's going to have to report this now isn't he?" Kelly asked  
"Yeah" Erin replied "And she's going to need somewhere to live"  
"It going to be a few weeks till we can move in, but I think Casey should be fine with it"  
"Move in?" Jay questioned  
"I found a house, and I was going to surprise her this afternoon"  
"She'll be wrapped" Erin replied  
"Even under the circumstances?" Kelly questioned  
"Especially under these circumstances"  
"You can go see her now" Will said to Kelly  
Kelly followed Will to Hannah's room  
"Dad" She said as Kelly and Will walked in  
"Han" He said hugging her  
Hannah flinched  
"Sorry" Kelly replied "Why didn't you tell me what happened?"  
"I didn't want to worry you" She replied  
"Han, not knowing worries me more"  
"I'm sorry" She replied hugging her dad  
"I going to be OK"


	9. Dead kid, Notebook and a lot of maybes

"Remind me again which one of you picked the house?" Casey asked as the three of them stood out the front of the old derelict house.  
"She did" Severide said pointing at Hannah  
"Worst house in the best street, plus you second it" Hannah replied  
Severide looked around at the other houses in the Maywood street.  
Casey laughed "Alright then, let's look how much work it needs" He said walking up to the front door.  
"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" Severide asked  
"Because you love me" Hannah replied  
Severide smiled as he looked at his daughter  
"You heard from mom?" Hannah asked  
"Not yet" Severide replied "Come on" He said walking up to the house

 **11:47 am**

"You heard from Katherine yet?" Jay asked Erin as she sat at her desk looking through a file  
"Yeah, She's with her parents in Wonder lake"  
"What about Hannah"  
"Her and Kelly were looking at house" Erin replied getting short  
"What about Cooper? You arrested him yet?" Jay asked  
"Jay enough OK, I'm sorting this out"  
"Like you did the last time?" He questioned  
"I _am_ sorting this OK, so just drop it Jay"  
"Erin, he could have killed her!" He yelled  
"Jay this has nothing to do with you so-"  
"Hey" Voight yelled as he came out of his office "That's enough out of you two"  
"You do something Erin before were left with a dead kid, a note book and a lot of maybes" Jay said before he went down the stairs and slammed the door shut behind him  
"You OK?" Voight asked Erin  
"I'm fine" She replied  
"How's the case going"  
"Slow" Erin replied "I want to make sure its solid"  
"He won't get away with this" Voight promised  
"I hope not"  
"How'd he take the restraining order?"  
"How do you think" Erin replied "He won't get away with this"  
Voight looked at her and nodded her head

 **7:04 pm**

"Lindsay, were going to Molly's for a drink, you going to join?" Ruzek asked  
"I've got some paper work to finish up here"  
"You've been at it all day"  
"It's important, I'll catch up another time" Erin promised  
"Sure" Adam said getting his keys "Don't work too hard"  
"Thanks" She replied

 **8:15 pm**

"Detective?" Burgess questioned as she walked up stairs  
"What is it Burgess"  
"Your accused, Cooper Harrington"  
"What about him"  
"I just thought you'd like to know he was involved in an assault we were just called to earlier"  
"Did you arrest him?"  
"He was the one who had been assaulted"  
"Did he say who did it?"  
"No, but I'm guessing you have a few ideas already"  
"Yeah" Lindsay replied

 **8:34 pm**

There was a knock at the door.  
Kelly looked at Hannah as they sat on the couch watching TV  
"You get it" Said Hannah  
"You" Kelly replied  
"Rock-Paper-Scissors?" Hannah questioned  
"Ok"  
"1-2-3" They both said at the same time  
"Scissors beat paper, your answering the door"  
"Fine" Hannah replied getting up and answering the door  
"Hey Erin" She said once she saw who was on the other side  
"Hey Han, is Kelly home?" She asked  
"Yeah, come in"  
"Thanks" She said walking in "How's the ribs?"  
"Better" Hannah replied as she forced a smile  
"Erin, what are you doing here. Has something happened?"  
"I need to talk to you, in private"  
Kelly thought for a second "Sure"  
He looked at Hannah, "Han I think now is a good time to call your mom"  
"Ok" Hannah said walking in to the other room  
"What's going on?" Kelly asked  
"Have you been here all day?" Erin asked  
"Yeah, since about 6" Kelly replied  
"What about before then"  
"At the house"  
"Can anyone confirm that"  
"Yeah" Kelly laughed "Han and Casey. What's happened"  
"Cooper was assaulted today"  
"And you think it was me"  
"Help me believe it wasn't"  
"I didn't do it Erin" He replied  
"What about the cuts on your hands"  
"Training"  
"Training?" Erin questioned  
"I took it out on a brick wall at the hospital the other day, not Cooper. Why would I risk losing Hannah again"  
"If I find out your lying to me"  
"I'm not, I promise"  
"Thanks" Erin replied

 **9:27 pm**

"Hey Lindsay, you made it" Ruzek cheered as she walked up to the bar  
"Hey Adam" She replied  
"You want a drink?" He questioned  
"No thanks" She replied  
"You sure?" He questioned again  
"I'm sure, have one for me" She replied  
"You heard her Gabby, one more"  
"Sure Adam" Gabby replied  
"How many has he had?" Lindsay asked  
"Nearly one too many" Casey replied  
Erin laughed "How was the house"  
"Surprisingly liveable" Casey replied "At least Hannah picked a good one"  
"So not much work then"  
"Just a bit of paint and some work"  
"I need to ask you something"  
"Sure"  
"The cuts on Kelly's hands, what are they from?"  
"He took his anger out on a wall at med, why?"  
"I just needed confirmation" She replied "Is Jay here"  
"In the corner with Adam"  
"Thanks"  
Erin walked over to where the guys were siting.  
"Hey" She said as she sat next to Jay  
"Hey" He replied  
She looked at his hands clasped around his beer  
"Someone assaulted Cooper" She said  
"Someone needs a medal" He said taking a drink of his beer  
"You were right, I should have done something as soon as Hannah came to me" Erin explained  
"You know Lonnie had been abusing Ben for years before he died, and I knew. For years"  
"At least its justice" Lindsay replied


	10. No Regrets

"How was school today Squirt?" Kelly asked as Hannah walked up to the firehouse  
"School" Hannah replied as she shrugged her shoulders  
"I thought mom was getting you from school?"  
"She's running late, she said she'd get me from here"  
"You excited about tomorrow?" Kelly asked  
"Yeah, Hannah replied, slightly deflated  
"What's wrong?" Kelly asked  
"What if Cooper finds out?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"When he gets back from Detroit"  
"Hannah he can't hurt you ever again. Your Mom and I and Erin will never let that happen"  
"It can't stop him"  
"I promise you, he won't hurt you ever again" He said hugging his daughter  
"You promise?" She questioned  
"Absolutely" He replied, "Now let's go inside, I think Pouch misses you"

* * *

"What are the different blood types?" Capp asked Hannah as she sat at the squad table  
"A,B, AB and O" Hannah replied as she threw the ball for Pouch  
"Correct, again" Capp replied  
"Ask me another one, a bit harder this time"  
"Alright then" Capp replied as he looked through the book  
"Name the two circulation systems"  
Hannah looked at him confused  
"What, you highlighted it"  
"Uhhhh Pulmonary and Systemic"  
"Yep" Capp replied as he put the book back on the table "Why did you need me to quiz you if you've got the whole thing already memorised"  
Hannah shrugged her shoulders while Kelly laughed to himself  
"How late did your mom say she would be?" Kelly asked  
"She just said she had something to do and she'd be late"  
Kelly looked at his watch. 6:24 pm  
The alarm echoed throughout the firehouse  
"Squad 3, Truck 81, Engine 51, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25"  
"I'd say keep studying but I don't think you need to" Capp said as he walked towards the Squad truck  
Hannah watched as all the trucks left the firehouse  
"It's just you and me again Pouch" She said as Pouch sat in Kelly's chair  
Hannah's phone began to ring. Mom.  
"Hey Mom" Hannah said answering her phone

* * *

"Was wondering where you two were hiding" Kelly said as he walked up to Katherine and Hannah sitting on the bench out the front of the firehouse  
"You hungry?" Hannah asked as she handed her dad a burger  
"Thanks" He said sitting next to her  
"Sorry I was late" Katherine explained "but my appointment went a bit later than expected"  
"What appointment?" Hannah asked  
"I know we've decided to buy a house together" Katherine explained to Kelly "But I've decided to finally become a Lawyer"  
"Wow" Severide said, shocked  
"I just feel that now's the right time and it's all OK I had a job interview at the State's Attorney Office as a paralegal to become a lawyer"  
"Mom that's great" Hannah said hugging her mom  
"Kelly?" Katherine questioned "Are you OK with it?"  
"Yeah" He replied "I'm not going to stop you pursuing your dreams and don't worry about the house, we'll make it work"  
"Uncle Matt said you can stay at his tonight too" Hannah explained to Katherine  
"I was kind of hoping I had somewhere to stay tonight, wasn't looking forward to sleeping in the empty house"  
"Don't worry if you had to it's in a lot better condition than it was at first" Hannah explained  
"That's promising" Katherine replied  
"Yeah Matt and I have done a lot of work on it lately" Kelly teased  
"Hey I have too" Hannah replied "I'm just slightly disabled at the moment"  
"Sure" Kelly laughed  
"Hey Will told me no strenuous work for 6 weeks" Hannah explained  
"Doesn't mean you could sit on your phone while we fixed the walls"  
"I wasn't sitting on my phone the whole time" Hannah replied  
"Did Uncle Matt take it off you?" Katherine questioned  
"Maybe" Hannah said quietly "But I was going to help out when they weren't lifting things"  
"We'll let you off this time" Said Kelly "But you have to help tomorrow, we don't have much time to move the stuff out"  
"It's going to be fine, most of our stuff is still in boxes"  
"What about your stuff at Matt's?" Kelly asked  
"Dad I've been living on a couch for the last fortnight, I don't have much there that won't fit into my school bag"  
"I think it's time we head home for some sleep" Katherine said to Hannah  
"Now?" Hannah questioned  
"I'm tired and we've got a big day tomorrow"  
"Ok"  
"Hey, one more sleep and we'll be in our own house" Kelly reminded Hannah  
"Yeah, that's if I can sleep"  
"You better" Kelly replied  
The firehouse sirens rang out throughout the house

*Ambulance 61, Squad 3*

Hannah looked at Kelly "Make sure you get some sleep"  
"Sure, but first I've got to save the world" Kelly joked to Hannah  
"I love you" She said before he walked away  
"Love you too!" He yelled running over the squad truck  
"Come on pumpkin" Katherine said walking over to the car "Have you got a spare key?"  
"Of course, Uncle Matt gave me my own key" Hannah replied taking it out of her pocket  
"Of course" Katherine replied putting her arm around her daughter

* * *

Hannah lent against the car looking at the house  
"You going to come in?" Casey asked as he put a box in the tray of his ute  
"I can't go in there" Hannah replied  
"You know he's not there, he can't hurt you"  
"There's just too many memories"  
"Come on, there's only a few boxes left" Casey said to Hannah  
"OK then" She replied following him back in to the house  
Hannah walked through the front door, one she hoped to never walk through again. Everywhere she looked reminded her of Cooper, of what Cooper did. Hannah went up to her room. Everything still in boxes. Her bed was half dismantled by her dad, the mattress already in the trailer.  
"I'll take these boxes down, you take the rest of the base apart" Casey said handing her a screwdriver.  
"Sure" Hannah replied beginning to take her bed frame apart  
Hannah sat on her bedroom floor, alone, in the quiet. Memories of what happened began flooding back. The times she cried herself to sleep from the pain and fear. The cupboard she would hide in when Cooper had one of his moments. The walls Cooper pinned her up against countless amounts of times. If only walls could talk.  
"Hey Squirt" Severide said walking into the room  
Hannah jumped  
"Hey, I didn't mean to scare you" He said sitting next to her  
"It's OK" She said trying to unscrew her bed frame  
Kelly watched her hands shake as she tried to take the screw out  
"Hey, what's wrong" Kelly asked as he put his hand on Hannah's  
"Nothing" She replied as she flinched and pulled her hand away from her dad  
"Han, it's OK" He reassured  
"I can't do it, I can't be in this house" Hannah said getting up and running out of the room  
"Han?"  
Kelly followed her down the stairs and out of the house  
"I can't do this" Hannah said as she went out the front of the house, at the same time as Dawson showed up  
"Han? What's going on?" Dawson asked as she walked up to her  
"I-I can't be in that house" Hannah said beginning to panic  
"It's OK sweetie calm down" Dawson reassured, hugging her  
"I can't" Hannah continued to say as she cried in Dawson's arms  
"Hannah?" Katherine asked as she came out of the house with Casey  
"She's OK, she just had a panic attack" Dawson explained  
"Oh Han" Katherine said as she hugged Hannah "I'm so sorry sweetie" she said as Hannah continued to cry in her mums arms  
"The trailers full, how about you take Hannah home and start unloading it" Casey said giving Dawson his car keys  
"Yeah, sure" She replied "Come on Han"  
Casey went back inside the house leaving Kelly and Katherine out the front  
"This is all my fault" Katherine said  
"Hey it's not your fault" He reassured her  
"I should have never put her in this situation"  
"It's OK"

* * *

Dawson and Hannah pulled up in the driveway of the new house. "You want to talk about what happened back there?" Dawson asked  
"Not really" Hannah replied  
"it's ok. You can talk to me"  
Hannah sat there quietly  
"Hannah?"  
"I'm just scared that Cooper will come back"  
"Han there's no way he'll hurt you again. I can promise that"  
"Everyone keeps saying that but how can I believe them"  
Dawson let out a sigh "I don't know what I can say to make you feel better but I can promise you we will try our absolute hardest to keep you safe, I can promise you that"  
Hannah smiled and nodded her head.  
"Now come on, we've got a trailer to unload" Dawson said getting out of the car  
"You picked your room yet?" Dawson asked as she put a box on the kitchen floor  
"That one" Hannah said to Dawson "Across from Mom and Dads"  
"Mom _and_ Dads?"  
"Yep" Hannah smiled  
"The house is looking better since the last time I saw it"  
"Yeah Dad and Uncle Matt fixed a lot of holes in the walls and some leaky pipes"  
"Just dad and Uncle Matt?" Dawson questioned "apart from being at school I just supervised on the weekends and after school"  
"Is that all you did?" Dawson questioned  
"No, I tested some paints on the walls"  
"I can see that" she said looking at all the random colours on the walls "Have you picked a colour for your room yet?"  
"Still a bit undecided" Hannah said "but it's some shade of blue"  
"Got any colours yet?"  
"Yeah, come have a look" Hannah said walking over to her room  
Hannah turned on the light to reveal eight different colours of blue in small patches over the walls  
"Which Blues are your favourites?" Hannah questioned  
"Probably those three, what about you?"  
"Those two at the moment" Hannah said picking two of the three that Dawson picked  
"Which walls are going to be which?"  
"Not sure but I want one to be the dark blue"  
"What's you dad said about it?"  
"Not much yet"  
Dawson laughed.  
The front door opened and Kelly came in with Katherine and Matt  
"The trailers still pretty full, have you guys done anything?" Kelly teased  
"ha ha ha" Hannah said sarcastically.  
We've been talking" Dawson explained  
"About?" Casey questioned  
"Paint colours, and the amount of holes in the wall"  
"Yeah. Paint colours" Kelly said to himself  
"Says the person who is happy to keep the plaster board walls" Katherine teased  
"Why complicate things?" Kelly laughed  
Hannah raised her eyebrow at her dad  
"Don't you have boxes to get out of the trailer?"  
"Fine" Hannah said walking out to the trailer  
"Did she say anything?"  
"Not much, she's just scared off Cooper still"  
"Maybe she needs to talk to someone" Matt said  
"She won't" Katherine replied  
"A trait she gets from me" Kelly added  
"We just need to keep an eye on her" Dawson added  
"Easier said than done" Kelly replied

* * *

"We got pizza!" Hannah called out as she came through the front door with two boxes  
"And garlic bread?" Katherine questioned as she put some plates on the fold out table  
"Yep" Kelly replied, closing the door behind him  
"Meat lovers and Chicken?" Hannah questioned as she put the pizzas on the table  
"No veggie option?"  
"Nope" Hannah said putting some pizza on her plate  
"You are your fathers daughter" Katherine said to herself  
"Yep" Hannah said sitting on the mattress in the lounge room  
"I hope you're hungry" Kelly said opening the garlic bread  
"You couldn't get anything with veggies on it?"  
"There's capsicum on the chicken, I think"  
"Sure" Katherine laughed  
"Hey I got you a surprise" Kelly said to Katherine  
"What?" She questioned  
""Tada" he said revealing a box of ice-creams  
Katherine smiled, "Thank you, but we don't have a freezer yet"  
"Well we'll just have to eat them all tonight" Kelly laughed  
"I love you" she said hugging Kelly  
"You better" he teased  
Katherine punched him in the shoulder and laughed  
"Not regrets?" Kelly asked  
"Not one" Katherine replied "Maybe one, how are the three of us going to fit on the one mattress?"  
"We'll be fine"


	11. A Power Move

"Busy Day?" Kelly asked Katherine as she walked through the door  
"Mental, You?" She asked as she put her bag on the table  
"The usual" He replied walking over to the table  
"Where's Han?"  
"In her room, doing homework. I hope"  
"She's not like us when we were 15"  
"You sure?" Kelly laughed as he got something out of the oven  
"I hope you haven't fixed her window yet"  
"Not yet, and maybe not ever now that I think about it"  
"Hannah dinners ready" Katherine called out  
"Yep" Hannah replied from her room  
"Any interesting cases yet?" Kelly asked  
"I don't know, all I've been doing is paperwork"  
"Got to start somewhere"  
"Yeah, I should just be thankful I got the job I guess"  
"What is she doing in her room" Kelly questioned "Hannah!"  
"Yep, I'm coming" She said walking out of her room  
"Dinners ready" Kelly replied  
"Yeah I heard you the first time" Hannah replied  
"What were you doing in your room" Katherine asked  
"Reading up on something"  
"Homework?" Kelly questioned  
"Nope"  
"Well then, what were you reading?" Katherine questioned  
"Well, seeing we are back in Chicago and I'm 15 I was thinking-"  
"No, you are not getting your learners until your 16" Said Kelly  
"Why not?" Hannah questioned  
"You know how many car accidents I've seen with learners and probationary drivers"  
"Yeah but I won't be another statistic, I'm not a bad driver plus I've got you and mum to teach me"  
"It's not you driving that is the problem it's the other people on the roads" Kelly explained  
"So, I don't care if you make me drive up and down our street for the first few times"  
"Like the first month?"  
"First three months, I don't care"  
"I'm not driving with you until you've had at least 3 lessons" Katherine added  
"And you still call yourself a good driver"  
"OK, I feel that I would be an OK driver"  
"Have you ever driven a car?"  
"Yeah" Hannah replied  
"Apart from when you were with me, on the bush trails"  
"No"  
"So you've never driven on the road?"  
Hannah sighed "Kind of hard when we left Phoenix before I was 15 and a half. But isn't that the point of being a learner"  
"Well think about it" Kelly replied  
"So that's a no" Said Hannah  
"I said we'll think about it, now finish your dinner"  
Hannah looked at her mom  
"Do what your dad says Han"  
Hannah rolled her eyes and ate her dinner

"Are we going to consider it?" Katherine asked Kelly as they did the dishes  
"I guess we have to" Kelly replied  
"I'm worried too, but our baby is growing up"  
"Yeah, I'll figure something out and let her know tomorrow"  
"Like what?"  
"Something Herrmann did with Lee Henry"  
"Parenting advice from Herrmann, there's only one way that can end."

* * *

"What are we doing at the 21st?" Hannah questioned  
"You want to learn to drive?" Kelly questioned  
"Yeah, but aren't we supposed to go the DMV?"  
"Yeah, but there's another test you have to pass first"  
"Like what?"  
"You'll see, come on"  
Hannah and Kelly walked inside to the 21st.  
"Morning Lieutenant" Said Trudy as Hannah and Kelly walked through the door.  
"Morning, Is Lindsay around?" Kelly questioned.  
"Upstairs, I'll buzz you guys up"  
"Are you going to make her talk to me about traffic accidents? Because you've already done that at home and the firehouse" Hannah questioned  
"No, now stop guessing" Kelly said as they walked up the stairs  
"Why, cause I've already guessed it?" Hannah teased  
"Guessed what?" Erin questioned as she went up to Kelly and Hannah  
"Someone's trying to figure out what we're doing here" Kelly explained  
"Hasn't he told you?" Erin questioned  
"You do know my dad right?" Hannah questioned  
"OK, I'll put you out if your misery then" Said Kelly, "You are doing a field test"  
"What?" Hannah questioned "I'm just going for my learners, not applying to be a cop"  
"This is a test to determine if you can get your permit" Kelly explained  
"Who am I driving with then?"  
"Me if you want" Erin offered  
"Ah" Hannah stammered  
"Or you can pick someone else"  
"Olinsky" Hannah said, knowing he'd be the safest option  
"Not me, Lexi was bad enough"  
Hannah death stared him, "Thanks" She replied  
"Ruzek?"  
"Pick someone who can actually drive" Voight added  
"Hey, I can drive" Ruzek said, hurt  
"Pick someone quick or its Voight" Kelly said  
"Uhhhh"  
"3, 2 -"  
"Jay" Hannah blurted out at the last minute "Shit, should have just kept my mouth shut" Hannah said to herself putting her head in her hands after she finally realised what she said  
Jay began to quietly laugh to himself  
"It's your funeral" Kelly said to his daughter  
"Come on then, try not to get us killed" Jay said as he got his car keys  
Hannah looked at her dad "Go on then, try not to kill Jay"  
Hannah smiled and followed after Jay

"Have you done your course yet?" Jay questioned  
"Nope"  
"You ever drove a car before" Jay questioned as he and Hannah go in the car  
"Yeah" Hannah replied, "Just not in the city"  
"Don't worry, we'll only go the back roads"  
Hannah put her seatbelt on and started the car "You still feel like a housewife"  
Jay looked at her "Who told you about that?"  
"Erin"  
"Ok then, that's minus 100 points"  
"What?" Hannah questioned  
"You picked on your instructor, I'm taking points away for that"  
"How many points do I need to pass?"  
"For you, 200"  
"Is your standard normally higher?"  
"No, for anyone else it would be 100"  
"Thanks" Hannah replied, unimpressed  
"Come on, drive nugget"

"How'd you go?" Kelly asked Hannah as they walked back in  
"Ask him" Hannah said with a smirk on her face  
"She passed"  
"How much did that cost you?" Kelly teased  
"Absolutely nothing"  
"She's a good driver for a learner. Her parking could be a little better though"  
"Parallel?" Kelly asked  
"No that's fine, she just can't seem to pull in forwards straight enough"  
"That's just because your picky, I was between the lines thank you very much"  
"Whatever you say" Jay replied  
"So, can I go get my permit now?" Hannah asked, smiling for ear to ear  
"A promise is a promise"  
Hannah's smile got brighter  
"Come on then" Kelly said walking towards the car

"Someone call for a taxi?" Hannah asked as her mum walked over to the car  
"You passed" Katherine cheered as she walked over to her daughter  
"With one condition" Kelly added  
"Only one?" Katherine questioned  
"It's not mine, all she has to do is wear her glasses"  
"Because of my stupid lazy eye", Hannah added  
"Oh well, in a years' time you'll be able to drive me around"  
"More like 9 months' time"  
"More like a year" Kelly corrected  
"You'll see" Hannah replied  
"Come on, let's go and get some lunch" Katherine said getting in the car

* * *

"Han get her permit?" Casey asked as He, Dawson and Kelly walked up to the firehouse  
"Yep, now she won't stop hounding me to go driving"  
"She any good?" Dawson questioned  
"Pretty good, for a learner"  
"Who took her for her "field test"?" Casey asked  
"Jay" Kelly replied "She tried for Olinsky but he wasn't having it" He laughed  
"Kelly, Matt, Can I speak with you in my office please" Boden asked as he met them at the door  
"Sure chief" Casey replied  
"What's going on?" Kelly questioned  
"Beats me" Matt replied  
"What's going on chief?"  
"I have just been notified that firehouse 51 is on the short list"  
"Shortlist for what chief?" Kelly asked  
"Budget cuts meaning McCloud is closing down another firehouse and 51 is on that list"  
"They can't do that chief, we are already stretched as is"  
"They can and they are. Also, we are losing out candidate" Boden said looking at Casey  
"What for"  
"We are getting a more senior firefighter which means Jimmy is being bumped out"  
"Does he know?"  
"Not yet"  
"Who's replacing him?"  
"I have no idea, but this is Borelli's last shift at 51"  
The sirens echoed throughout the firehouse  
*Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Multi-vehicle accident, persons trapped*

"Borelli, you're needed in the chief's office. You too lieutenants" Connie said as they began to walk back inside  
"What's going on chief?" Borelli questioned as she walked into the chief's office  
"Jimmy, There is no easy way of saying this but due to recent budget cuts there is no longer a place for you at 51"  
"Why?" Borelli questioned  
"It is nothing you have done, we are getting a more senior firefighter from station 18 and-"  
"-And being a candidate I'm the first to go"  
Boden nodded his head  
"But you've still got the rest of this shift. And you never know, a place might come up at another firehouse" Casey added  
"Yeah, Thanks" Borelli said walking towards the door, "Thanks for the opportunity Chief" He said walking out  
"Chief what about Ambo?" Severide added  
"What about it?" He questioned  
"We can't keep getting a new relief medic each shift"  
"And Borelli's trained, it would be a waste to see him go" Casey added  
"I'll make a few phone calls, see what I can do"  
Matt and Kelly walked out of the chief's office. Kelly's phone buzzed in his pocket  
"Katherine" He said to himself  
"What does she want?" Casey asked  
"Katherine's going to Naperville next shift"  
"What for?"  
"Some work thig she says"  
"Work?"  
"The way I see it it's better not to ask"  
"That's married life for you"  
"Hey, were only living together not even dating"  
"So that means Hannah's sleeping over next shift?"  
"If we are even here next shift" Kelly laughed

"Is chief serious?" Brett questioned as she walked up to Borelli  
"Yep" Borelli replied "This is my last shift at 51"  
"What are you going to do now?"  
"See what comes up otherwise I'm sure Danny can pull a few strings for me"  
Brett nodded her head and turned to walk away, she hesitated.  
"Jimmy Borelli, I'm going to tell you something because there is no point in holding it back now. I've had a huge thing for you since you showed up at 51, and who knows what would have happened if you stayed. Who knows"  
Jimmy stood there, unsure of what to say "I'm flattered"  
"You should be" Brett said quickly before she walked away  
"Why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?" Hannah questioned as she walked up to Borelli  
"Nothing" He replied "what are you doing here?"  
"Mom's busy, again"  
"Doing what"  
"I'll let you have one guess, four-letter word, and starts with "W""  
"Work?"  
"100 points" Hannah replied "Why does everyone look so down?"  
"Ask your dad" Borelli replied walking off  
"OK then Hannah said to herself walking towards the AP floor  
"Hey squirt"  
"Hey dad" Hannah replied sitting at the table "Borelli said you had something to explain"  
"What does he mean by that?" Severide questioned  
"I asked him why does everyone look so down and he said to ask you"  
Severide let out a sigh "You know how Firehouse 18 got closed down"  
"Yeah" Hannah replied  
"There are more budget cuts, and our Firehouse is on that list"  
"They can't do that"  
"They can and they are" Capp replied  
Severide looked at Hannah "Don't you go all lawyer on this, it's going to work itself out"  
"What do you mean?" Hannah questioned  
"I can tell by that look on your face"  
"They're only shooting themselves in the foot, It's going to mess response times"  
"Hannah" Kelly repeated  
"I've got some homework to do" Hannah said getting up and walking away  
"School work only Han" Kelly yelled out  
"She's got a point" Tony added  
"Don't encourage her Tony"  
"Hannah on the warpath?" Casey questioned  
"No, I told her about the closures, now who knows what kind of letter she's writing"  
"The more that stand up the better"  
"Or it could make McCloud's final decision quicker


	12. A Real Wake Up Call

"Hurry up Hannah or you'll be late for school" Kelly called out to Hannah as he looked for his keys  
"Yep," She replied as she sat on the floor finishing her homework.  
"What are you doing on the floor?" He questioned as he walked into the kitchen.  
"Finishing my homework" She replied  
"On the floor?" He questioned  
"Well kind of have to when we don't have a table" She said pointing at the small table holding up the toaster, kettle and the very few pieces of cutlery they had  
"We'll get a table tomorrow, have you seen my keys?"  
"On top of the fridge"  
"Thanks" Kelly said getting the keys down from the fridge "Come on, I've got to get to work"  
"I'm coming" Hannah said running towards the door  
Kelly closed and locked the door behind him  
"Hey dad" Hannah questioned  
"Yeah"  
"Can I start dance again?" She questioned  
Kelly sighed  
"What about cheer?"  
"Take it up with your mom when she gets back" Kelly replied  
"Why?" Hannah questioned  
"Because she's going to be the one taking you"  
"Can I drive?" Hannah replied as she got in the car  
"No, we agreed, you can only drive mums car. It's safer"  
"Fine" Hannah replied  
"You got your stuff for tonight?" Kelly questioned  
"Yeah, it's in the back of the car"  
"Good"

"You right to walk to the firehouse after school?" Kelly asked as he dropped Hannah off at school  
"Yep" Hannah said opening the car door  
"Hey Hannah" A boy said walking past  
"Who was that?" Kelly questioned  
"No one" Hannah replied, her face went red  
"Have you got a boyfriend?" He teased  
"No, He's just a friend"  
"Does he have a name?"  
"Xander, and that's all I'm going to tell you" She said closing the door  
Kelly laughed to himself as he put the car back into drive

"What's with the smug look on your face?" Casey asked as he, Severide and Dawson walked up to the firehouse  
"I think Hannah's got a boyfriend" He laughed  
"What?" Casey questioned "He have a name?"  
"Xander, I think she said"  
"What's he like?" Dawson questioned  
"Not sure"  
"As long as he is not like you when you were a teenager"  
"Very funny" Kelly replied "Don't let anyone else hear this or Hannah will kill me"  
"Good luck with that" Dawson replied.

* * *

Hannah walked up to the firehouse with her eyes locked on her phone.  
"Keep looking at it like that and you'll walk into a pole" Otis said to Hannah as they stood out the front of the firehouse playing Corn hole.  
"Must be important" Cruz said as Hannah kept looking at her phone  
"Huh?" Hannah questioned as she looked up from her phone.  
"You texting your boyfriend?" Cruz questioned  
Hannah looked at him confused  
"Xander" Otis teased  
"Dad!" Hannah complained as she walked into the firehouse, While Cruz, Otis and Mouch laughed  
She went over to the squad table, put her phone down and glared at her dad  
"Hey squirt, how was school" Kelly asked  
Hannah didn't reply, instead, she kept staring at him.  
"Uh oh" Capp said quietly  
"What?" He asked, confused  
"Did you have to open your big mouth dad"  
"About what?"  
"Xander" She replied  
"So he _is_ your boyfriend" Kelly laughed  
"No" Hannah replied  
Kelly raised his eyebrow at her  
"Not at the moment" Hannah said quietly  
"That's my girl" Kelly laughed putting his arm around her, tackling her  
"We ever going to meet this Xander" Capp asked  
"You guys? Am I crazy" Hannah replied "I'm never bringing him here"  
"Scared he'll find out all our secrets" Tony added  
"No, but I know what you guys are capable of" She said walking into the kitchen  
Hannah sat at the table across from Borelli  
"How was your first day on Ambo?" Hannah questioned  
"Pretty good, how was school?"  
"School" Hannah replied getting a folder out of her bag  
"Homework already? You only just got here"  
"It's not really homework" Hannah replied  
"What is it? A love letter for Xander" Borelli teased  
"Not you too"  
"Sorry, Brett told me"  
"Dawson told me" Brett added  
"Anyway, what's this "non-homework"?"  
"It's a letter" Hannah said handing it to Borelli "About the firehouses being closed"  
"Hannah, didn't your dad tell you to stay out of this?"  
"Yeah, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him"  
"He'll find out eventually"  
"So long as no one tells him" Hannah looked at Brett "But I don't think secrets are kept very well around here"  
"Blame Dawson" She said continuing to look at her book  
"More like blame my dad" She said to herself

"11:30 and not a single callout." Borelli said as Mooch, Casey, Dawson, Kelly and Hannah sat in the kitchen  
"Shut up candidate" Mouch called out  
Borelli looked at him confused  
"You of all people should know not to say things like that in a firehouse" Casey added.  
"Why?" Borelli questioned  
"Once you say that the calls won't stop coming in" Hannah explained  
"$5 says we won't get one between now and the end of shift" Said Borelli  
"$10 says you will" Hannah replied  
"Deal" He replied  
"I think its bedtime for you Han" Severide added  
"Fine" Hannah moaned  
"Mom will get you in the morning if she gets here before we finish shit"  
"Yep" Hannah replied getting up from the table  
"Come on" Kelly said walking to the bunk room with Hannah  
"Night Han" Casey said as she walked past  
"Night guys" She replied

The siren called throughout the house.  
*Squad 3. Working fire assist. 6101 South Cottage Grove Avenue*  
Hannah looked at her watch. 4:26 am. She rolled over and tried to fall back asleep.  
"Go back to sleep" Kelly said as he walked past and kissed Hannah on the forehead  
"Love you" Hannah moaned, still half asleep  
"Bets still on Han" Borelli called out, also half asleep  
"You owe me ten bucks" She replied  
Borelli moaned in his sleep

* * *

"Morning Pumpkin" Katherine said as she sat on the edge of Hannah's bed  
"Morning" Hannah replied, slowly waking up "How was Naperville?"  
"OK" Katherine said  
"Is everything OK?" Hannah questioned  
"It's just the case, it's a tough one"  
"Does it involve kids again?"  
"Yeah" Katherine replied "Anyway, it's the weekend and when dad's off shift we'll go looking for furniture"  
"We can finally get a proper kitchen table" Hannah cheered  
"Where's dad?" Katherine asked  
"Squad got called to a fire about 4:30"  
"Where?"  
"Woodlawn"  
"Why didn't they call everyone else here?"  
"Mom you should know how the firehouse works, there are 4 squads and like 96 engines and 65 trucks"  
"Alright then miss know it all" Katherine laughed  
"I don't know everything, not like I can predict the future"  
Katherine laughed  
"Come on hurry up and get dressed and we'll get breakfast"  
"Burger King?" Hannah asked  
Katherine raised her eyebrow  
"Fine" She replied, knowing Hannah had her wrapped around her little finger "Let me guess, waffles"  
"Correct every time" Hannah said running to the bathroom to get changed

"Hurry up, my tummy's rumbling" Said Hannah  
"Didn't they feed you at the firehouse last night?" Katherine teased  
"Yes, but I normally have breakfast at 7:00"  
"Weirdo" Katherine replied  
"What, I've always been an early bird"  
"We'll be there in 10 OK."  
"GPS says five"  
"Do you remember traffic in Chicago at 7 in the morning?"  
"More like you're driving" Hannah whined "Why couldn't I drive"  
"Do I have to repeat myself? Peak. Hour. Traffic."  
"But dad said I can only drive your car because it's safer"  
"Not right now, OK"  
"Am I ever going to drive"  
Katherine laughed  
"What's this bet you've got with Jimmy?" Katherine asked  
"What bet?" Hannah bluffed  
"A bet about whether or not there would be a call out"  
"He reckons he won."  
"No way" Hannah replied "There was a call out, he owes me $10"  
"A squad call out, not an Ambo call out"  
"It's still call out" Hannah replied, putting her brush back in her bag "Oh man"  
"What?" Katherine replied  
"I left my folder at the firehouse"  
"I asked you before we left if you had everything"  
"I know" Hannah replied  
"Text dad and get him to bring it home with him"  
"Doing that now" Hannah said texting her dad  
they heard sirens in the distance as they sat at the intersection, waiting  
"What's the bet its dad?" Katherine asked  
"This far down?"  
"They were just in Woodlawn"  
"Maybe" Katherine replied, slowly moving the car forward on the snow-covered road  
Hannah watched as the cars went past, the sirens still far off in the distance. Katherine began to turn. Suddenly the sirens got louder.  
"Mom! Look out!" Hannah screamed as she looked out her window


	13. One Minute

Severide's radio buzzed as they were packing up from their last call.  
"Squad 3. MVA persons trapped. The intersection of Stoney Island and South Chicago Ave  
"Squad 3 responding" Severide replied into the radio  
"That's near Firehouse 18" Tony questioned  
"Would be better if 18 was still open" Cruz added  
"It was going to happen eventually" Severide said as he got in the squad truck

Squad headed to the corner of Stoney Island and South Chicago Ave, a bad intersection at the best of times, made worse with the recent weather. The area had already been blocked off by the police  
"What happened?" Kelly asked Roman as he got out of the squad truck  
"T-Bone, The black SUV was involved in a pursuit and ran a stop sign t-boning the Rav-4"  
"Occupants?" Kelly asked  
"Single occupant in the SUV, he stuck but he's ok. Mother and daughter in the RAV-4. The moms OK, Daughter not so much, her side took the impact, she's still trapped"  
Kelly looked over at the mangled wreck. Jimmy and Brett were attending to the trapped girl through the driver's side of the car. He started getting the tools out of then began to walk over to Kelly with Erin.  
"Would be good if 18 was still open" He said before he turned around to see Erin with him "Since when do they assign intelligence to car accidents?"  
"Chief Boden called me" She replied  
"Tony you take over" Boden ordered "Kelly we need to talk"  
"Why. What's going on?" He questioned  
"Come on" Erin said trying to walk him away from the accident before he would realise  
Kelly looked past Erin back at the mangled cars. He looked closer, and then he realised.  
"No" He said to himself "Hannah! Katherine!" He yelled trying to run towards the accident  
"Kelly stop" Boden said trying to hold him back  
"Please tell me it's not them" Kelly begged "Please"  
"I'm sorry Kelly" Erin replied  
"Katherine's OK, she's getting checked over by Ambo 32" Boden explained  
"And Hannah?" He asked  
"Jimmy and Brett are working their hardest, she's awake. But right now they just need to focus on getting her out"  
"I want to see Katherine" Kelly said  
"Sure" Lindsay replied as she and Severide walked over to Ambo 32  
"Kelly" Katherine called out as she ran over to him  
"Katherine" He replied hugging her  
"Is Hannah going to be ok?" She asked  
"Brett and Borelli are trying their hardest" He replied  
"This is all my fault" Katherine cried  
"No it's not" He replied  
"She was hounding me all morning to let her drive, she wouldn't be in this situation if I just said yes"  
"You don't know that" Kelly replied "Everything's going to be OK, I promise"  
"You just make sure our girls going to be ok"  
"I will" He said walking over to the truck  
"Kelly stop" Boden demanded  
Kelly looked at Boden. He looked him in the eyes  
"Please"  
Boden thought for a second  
"Alright but Tony's still in charge. You answer to him, Casey and I or you're out of here. Nothing stupid"  
"And jeopardise my daughter's life?" He questioned as he walked over to the accident  
Boden and Kelly began to walk over to the accident  
"Chief?" Casey questioned as they walked over.  
"It's ok Matt" He replied

"How is she?" Brett asked Jimmy as she handed him some more gauze.  
"She's hanging in there" He replied "She's got a compound fracture to her right arm"  
"I'll get a splint" Brett said running back to the Ambo  
Hannah moaned  
"Hey Han" Borelli said "Can you open your eyes for me?"  
"Dad" She moaned, slowly opening her eyes  
"He's here" Jimmy replied "Do you remember what happened?"  
"There were sirens" She replied  
"What about what day it is?" He said shining a torch in her eyes  
"Saturday" She replied "And you still owe me $10"  
"That's the Hannah I know" He laughed "But I don't think it counts when _you're_ the call out"  
"Where's mom" Hannah said looking at the driver's seat where Jimmy was.  
"She's alright, she got out. Just a few cuts and bruises"  
Hannah flinched as she tried to move  
"Stay still for me Han, Just until we get you out"  
"How long will that take" Hannah said slowly drifting off  
"How long do you think your dad will take Han" Jimmy asked  
Hannah didn't reply  
"Come on Han, stay awake for me"  
"I'm tired" She replied  
"I know you are, but I need you to try and stay awake, promise me?"  
"Promise" Hannah mumbled  
"Borelli!" Boden called out "How is she?"  
Jimmy got out of the car leaving Brett with Hannah  
"She's conscious, just. Her GCS is 10"  
"What's her condition?"  
"She's drifting in and out, There's weakness in her left arm and her pupils sluggish"  
"You just try your hardest"  
"Will do chief" Jimmy replied "Do you really think it's a good idea for Kelly to be here"  
"You just let me worry about Kelly"

"Hey guys, separate the two vehicles we'll pull them both out at the same time alright" Kelly ordered as he walked over the Squad truck  
Capp pulled the winch out from the front of the squad and hooked it to the rear of the Black SUV.  
"Tony get ready on that winch" Kelly ordered  
Casey watched and looked around at what was going on, thinking.  
"Wait, wait. Hold on" He yelled "We move this car first he could be paralysed or worse"  
"The longer Han's pinned in, the wor-"  
"-I know" Casey cut in  
Severide looked at him. Everyone was silent  
"Your call" Severide replied, remembering what chief said and knowing arguing with Casey wouldn't help his daughter  
"Guys I don't care what decision you make but just hurry up, she's getting worse" Borelli yelled out  
"Herrmann, Dawson get the jaws" Casey ordered  
"Lieutenant, with all due respect it's Hannah we're talking about" Dawson added  
"Were getting him out first" Casey replied  
"You heard him, Dawson, move it" Herrmann ordered, running towards Truck  
"Capp, Tony. We're going to cut the roof posts off so we can get Hannah out as soon as the cars out of the way"  
"Copy that Lieutenant" Capp replied

"How's she going?" Borelli asked Brett as he went back to the car  
"Not good, She's not responding anymore" Brett explained  
"They're going to get the guy out of the SUV then cut Hannah out" Borelli explained  
"Do you really think she's got that much time?" Brett questioned  
"He's got possible spinal injuries"  
"Get him out last, it's what he deserves" Brett replied  
Borelli looked at her but didn't say anything

Herrmann began to try to pry open the door of the SUV. Once open the paramedics of ambo 26 carefully pulled the driver out and loaded him into the ambulance  
"Hey Lieutenant" Said Chout "Good luck"  
"Thanks" Casey replied  
Capp tightened the winch to pull the SUV away "All good to go" He called out to Tony  
Tony put the squad in reverse and pulled the cars apart.  
Once they were apart Herrmann and Mouch began to cut the front roof posts in order to pull the roof off to get Hannah out. Once the roof was peeled back Severide got in to get his daughter out  
"It's OK sweetie, dads here" He said as he got closer to her  
Hannah didn't reply  
They carefully slid the spine board behind Hannah and pulled her out of what was left of the car and loaded her into the ambulance.

* * *

Truck and Squad began to pack away while the police continued to investigate the car accident  
Katherine and Kelly stood quietly holding each other closely amongst the chaos around them.  
"She's going to be ok" Kelly reassured Katherine, and partly himself  
"I know, cause she's got you"  
Kelly looked at Katherine  
"And you" He replied  
"I love you" Katherine said quietly  
"I love you too" Kelly replied  
Katherine rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Kelly held her tighter  
"Katherine?"  
There was no reply. Katherine slowly fell into his arms "Katherine?" He questioned as he lowered her limp body to the ground "Katherine wake up, please" He begged  
"Casey! Dawson! Someone help please!" Kelly yelled  
Boden, Casey and Dawson came running over  
"What happened?" Dawson asked  
"I-I don't know, one minute we were talking then she just fainted"  
"Casey, call for another ambulance" Dawson ordered


	14. Not everyone makes it

Truck and Squad pulled into the firehouse, met by 2nd shift, waiting to take over. Not a word was said, not even a greeting. What if. What if firehouse 18 was still open, would everything be different? It played on all their minds but what was worse was that they'd take it home, dwell on it until next shift and every day after that. Their relationships and families would suffer too. In one way, they'd never be the same again.

Pouch lifted her head off the couch and watched the sombre faces walk in, she rested her head back down and closed her eyes. She could understand what had happened without a word being said.

Casey sat at his desk. A blue folder caught his eye. He picked it up and looked at the front. "Hannah Kate Severide" was written across the front. He had no idea why her folder was in his office instead of her dads. A piece of paper slipped out as he put it back down. Now he understood why. There was a knock on his door. He turned around and saw Dawson standing there.  
"Hey" He said  
"Hey" She replied, fidgeting with her phone "What's that?"  
"Hannah's attempt at saving 51" He said putting it back in the folder "Any news"  
Dawson nodded her head "Brett just called, It's not good"  
Casey nodded his head  
"We're going to head down to med, to be with Kelly"  
"I'll meet you there"

Kelly sat at the table, staring blankly in front of him, as Connor explained everything.  
"There was a tear in her aorta, the main artery from the heart, and it slowly expanded. In the end, it was too late, she'd lost too much blood and there was nothing we could do to save her, I'm sorry"  
Lindsay held Kelly's hand. Kelly nodded his head.  
"What about Hannah?" He asked  
"She has an acute subdural haematoma, that's about all I know at the moment but once I find out more I'll let you know."  
Kelly looked at Erin "I can't lose her too" He cried  
"She'll be fine, I promise" She said as she rested her head on his shoulder  
Boden's phone began to ring. He put his hand on Kelly's shoulder "I'll be back" He said as he walked out of the room  
"No matter how hard you try not everyone makes it" Erin said quietly as she sat with Kelly, still holding his hand  
"Matt" Boden said answering the phone  
"How are they?" He asked  
"Uh, Katherine didn't make it"  
"And Hannah?"  
"We don't know much yet"  
"Dawson and the others are on their way down there now"  
"What about you?" Casey asked  
"I'll be down there soon"  
"I'll see you then" Boden replied before he hung up the phone

Erin, Kelly and Chief Boden walked out into the waiting room. At the same time, Katherine's parents came in.  
"Where's my daughter?" Her mum asked Maggie at the front desk, distraught  
"What's your daughter's name?" She asked  
"Katherine Anderson, and our grand-daughter Hannah Severide. They were in a car accident"  
"Severide" Maggie said to herself quietly  
"Are they OK?" Katherine's mum asked again  
"Rd. Rhodes" Maggie called out  
"Yep" He said walking up to the desk  
"This is Katherine's parents"  
"Mr and Mrs Anderson, I'm Dr Rhodes"  
"Our daughter, is she OK?" Her mum asked again  
"Do you mind if we go somewhere more private?"  
"Just tell us now, please"  
"Your grand-daughter sustained pretty serious head injuries and she's in a critical condition"  
"And Katherine?" Her dad asked  
"Katherine sustained a tear in her aorta, I'm afraid she didn't make it. I'm sorry"  
"No!" Katherine's mum cried as she fell to the ground, still in her husband's embrace  
"Mr Anderson" Kelly said as he went up to them  
He looked up "Kelly?" He questioned  
"I'm so sorry" He apologised  
"Thank you" He replied as he tended back to his distraught wife

"Has anyone seen Casey?" Cruz asked as they sat waiting  
"Uh, he said he was coming later" Dawson replied  
"This is really eating him up isn't it" Borelli questioned  
"Yeah" Dawson replied "More than usual"  
"Has anyone tried talking to him?" Otis asked  
"You know what he's like, he's almost as bad as Kelly" Dawson replied  
"I know someone, I'll make a call" Herrmann added getting up and walking outside

"Hey" Casey said as he bumped into Borelli out the front of Med.  
"Hey Lieutenant"  
"How is she?" Casey asked  
"She's still critical. She's in surgery, their trying to stop the bleed"  
"The extra time she spent pinned in, how much worse did that make?" Casey asked  
Borelli shrugged his shoulders "One minute more, no one will really know" He put his hand on Casey's shoulder and walked back into the hospital  
"Hey Matt" He heard someone say behind him  
Casey turned around "Chaplin, what are you doing here?"  
"In 51"s hour of need, where else would I be?" He replied "Christopher Herrmann called me, told me you weren't handling it too well"  
"I'm fine" He replied  
Chaplin looked at him  
"I keep second guessing, If I had got her out first and left him paralysed would we be in this situation?"  
"Matt you can't blame yourself for things out of your control" Chaplin explained "You made a decision on what you thought was right at the time"  
"If Han doesn't make it I'll never forgive myself, Kelly will never forgive me"  
"She _will_ get through this" Chaplin reassured "Hannah's a fighter, and I can guarantee you, whatever the outcome Kelly will forgive you"  
"All I can say is that sometimes bad things happen to good people and we can't fix it, your job is to help is much as you can, then eventually somewhere down the line the good people will be Ok"

Will knocked on the door of the room where Kelly and Erin were waiting  
"Hey" Erin said as Will walked in  
"How is she?" Kelly asked  
"She made it through surgery, we managed to stop the bleed" He explained "But there is a high chance she has received some degree of brain damage"  
"When will we know?" Kelly asked  
"We'll keep monitoring her and running tests which should give us a clearer picture in a couple of days but there's also the possibility she'll never regain consciousness"  
Kelly didn't say anything  
"But she is in an induced coma at the moment to protect her brain from swelling, giving her a better chance. And we've also put her on a machine to help her breathe"  
"I want to see her" Kelly said  
"Come with me then" Will replied  
"I'll stay here" Erin replied  
Kelly nodded his head in agreement, knowing it was best  
Will and Kelly walked into Hannah's room, there were loud sounds made by the machines keeping her alive. He looked at how small his little girl looked on the hospital bed. She had a large cut down the side of her face where her head hit the window. Her arm was in a cast. He ran his hand down the side of her face.  
"Hey Squirt" He said as he held her hand "Everything's going to be OK, I promise"  
He tried to hold back the tears  
"I'm here for you every step of the way but I need you to promise me you get through this OK? I need you more than you know and I love you more than you'll ever realise. But I need you to fight, like the tough one you are"  
Severide kissed her on the cheek as he sat down next to her, still holding her hand  
"I love you squirt"

"What's that?" Dawson asked as Casey held an envelope in his hand, addressed to McCloud  
"Hannah's letter" He replied

* * *

Hannah's Letter;

Reasons as to why you should save Firehouse 51;

You may see my name is Severide. Yes, you thought right. Benny Severide is my grandfather and Squad Lieutenant Kelly Severide is my dad, but I want you to forget all that for a moment. I don't want my last name to influence what I'm about to say.

I believe that Firehouse 51 should remain open because lives will be endangered if it's closed. Closing 51 will be a danger to response times, lower man-power on Truck, Squad and Engine, it would also put hard workers out of a job, leave families to rely on a smaller, single income. Some even none, and possibly result in them losing their homes.

What benefit do you have closing a firehouse? Will the extra money "saved" go on pay raises for firefighters, new equipment, updated trucks or improved firehouses? Or will it go into the back pockets of politicians?

Every morning I wake up I know I "m safe. I know if ever I find myself in trouble I know there will always be someone to save me. But every time another firehouse is closed down the fear begins to take over bit by bit. I worry that I will find myself in trouble someday, help will be too far away and it might be too late for me or someone I love. If I lost someone because of CFD "budget cuts" I would have to live with it for the rest of my life, I can live with it but I don't want anyone else to carry the burden. Have you seen a bunch of firefighters come back from a call after they've lost someone, knowing full well if the house around the corner was still open they would have survived? Have you ever heard the silence when they walk back in? I have. In that silence, you can feel their pain and guilt. But what's worse is when they bring it home with them. It affects their partners, their children, and their whole family. They may seem like their over it by the next shift but they'll never forget it. They'll remember the date, their name, where it happened and why. Why their family is broken, why they blame themselves every time it happens again and again for the same reasons.

I hope you never find yourself in that situation, on either side. And I hope me or someone I love never has to go through that.

Firehouses are more than places where firefighters live while on shift. They are safe havens for everyone, a place for young children to learn about, and hopefully idolise, firefighters. It's a place where race, gender, religion and age don't matter and everyone's treated the same. I am grateful that I got to grow up in a firehouse around men and women who risk their lives every day to save strangers. They have taught me so much more than the schools could ever do. They taught me how to respect others, that it never hurts to help someone and if ever you're in trouble a firehouse is your safest place to go.

I hope this letter makes some sense to you. If it doesn't, what I'm trying to say is closing 51 or any other firehouse is a big mistake and won't just risk lives it will affect everyone, financially and mentally.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and I hope it has some influence on your final opinion.


	15. Two Families

All Night. For what felt like an eternity Kelly had sat b his daughter's bedside holding her hand, watching and waiting. Holding out hope that she would wake up. He couldn't face losing her. He'd already lost so much. Andy, Shay and now Katherine. Losing Hannah would break him. Kelly looked at his watch. 7 am. He knew everyone from 51 had gone home about 11 pm last night, and Lindsay got called back to the district at midnight. He knew her grandparents would want to see her, but he didn't want to leave Hannah. There was a knock at the door. It was Lindsay.  
"Hey" She said  
"Hey" Kelly replied, still by Hannah's bedside.  
"How is she?"  
"Not much change, she had a rough night"  
"What about you? Did you get much sleep?"  
"I got enough" Kelly replied  
"Have you eaten anything?" She asked  
Kelly shook his head  
"Come on, I'm hungry"  
"I'm not leaving her"  
"Kelly, you need to look after yourself, your going to be no use to Han if you burn yourself out"  
Kelly looked at her  
"She'll be ok, and we won't be too far away"  
Kelly nodded his head. He kissed Hannah on the forehead. "I'll be back soon Squirt" He whispered

"What did will say?" Erin asked as she drank her coffee while she sat at a table with Kelly  
"They're going to do another scan today to see if the swelling around her brains going down. If not, she'll have to go into surgery again and they'll put a shunt in" Kelly explained "Will said it's a pretty common procedure"  
"What about her arm" Erin asked  
"If she's stable enough they'll put a plate and screws in"  
"How's Katherine's parents?"  
Kelly shrugged his shoulders "I haven't seen them since last night"  
"Have you called our dad?"  
"No" Kelly said shaking his head  
Kelly rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh  
"How about you head home, get some sleep?"  
"I'm not going home" Kelly replied  
"I'll stay here, I'll make sure she's ok" Erin promised  
Kelly nodded his head "I just want to hear the test results first"  
"Sure" Erin promised

"What did the scan say?" Kelly asked as will walked into Hannah's room  
"Pretty much what we expected" He replied  
"What does that mean?" Kelly questioned  
"The swelling around her brain hasn't gone down" Will explained "But in saying that it hasn't increased, which is a good sign"  
"When do you expect it to go down?" Erin asked  
Will shrugged his shoulders "It's hard to say, it's only been 24 hours but we should be seeing some kind of improvement in the next couple of days"  
"And if we don't?" Kelly questioned  
"We've just got to focus on the fact that it hasn't increased" Will reassured  
"What about her arm, is it safe to put the plate in it?" Erin asked  
Will nodded his head, "Yeah, were hoping to do that sometime this afternoon"  
Erin looked at Kelly  
"I've got to go but I'll be back later to check on Hannah" Will explained  
"Thanks" Erin replied as Will walked out of the room  
"I just want her to get better" Kelly said, about to cry  
"She will get better" Erin reassured "Bit you need to go home, get some rest. I can stay here with Hannah, I'll make sure she's going to be ok. I promise"  
"My cars still at the firehouse"  
"Take mine" Erin said handing him her keys  
Kelly nodded his head and put Erin's keys in his pocket  
"I love you squirt" He said as kissed Hannah on the forehead  
"She'll be ok"  
"Thank you" Kelly said hugging Erin

Kelly got in Erin's car. Put the keys in the ignition and looked at his phone before he started the car. Missed calls and messages lit up his lock screen. Casey, Dawson, Capp, Brett, Boden. All asking how Hannah was. He unlocked his phone and searched through his contacts. He dwelled on it for a second. He knew once he said it he would finally realise it was all true. Not just some horrible dream he was hoping to wake up from soon. He pressed dial. He waited for someone to pick up on the other end. It rung out.  
 _"_ _Hi, you've reached the Benny Severide, sorry I can't get to the phone right now, leave a message and I'll call you back"_  
"Dad" Something he wouldn't be saying  
"You need to come back to Chicago, there was an accident and" Kelly paused for a second, he couldn't bring himself to say it "You just need to come back please"  
Kelly ended the call. He went back to searching for another contact. He pressed dial  
 _"_ _Hi you've reached Leslie Shay, Sorry I can't get to the phone right not but leave a message and I'll call you back"_  
Kelly let out a sigh "I just needed to hear your voice again, I need to know that everything's going to be ok"

Kelly walked through the door of the empty house. The house where he, Katherine and Hannah lived. Their family home. What was meant to be their family home? The silence was painful. The house was already incomplete but now it felt even more. He went into Hannah's room. There were different colours of paint over the walls, boxes on the ground and her bed. She was supposed to help him finish the house that weekend, not be in the hospital fighting for her life. He sat on the edge of her bed. The silence got to him, he let out a sigh as he began to cry. He had been holding on all night, trying to be strong for his daughter but for a moment he felt he could let his guard down. He could finally come to terms with what was happening to his family.

Kelly's phone buzzed. He looked at the time. 5:23 pm. He had been asleep for almost seven and a half hours. He picked up his phone and looked at the screen. There was a message from Erin.  
"You need to come back, something happened" He read from the text  
Kelly jumped out of Hannah's bed and quickly got the car keys and got in the car.

"What happened?" Kelly asked as he went up to Erin  
"They fixed her arm, but the swelling around her brain has increased so they've had to put a drain in."  
"I knew I shouldn't have gone home" Kelly said to himself  
"Hey it's OK, they've got it under control. It's just a minor setback"  
"What did Wil say?"  
"He was waiting for you to get here, to explain it to you better"  
"I'm going to go see her"  
"Not yet Kelly"  
"Why?"  
"Katherine's parents are in there at the moment" Erin explained  
Kelly nodded his head  
"Come on, let's wait in the waiting room" Erin said holding Kelly's hand  
Erin and Kelly walked into a full waiting room.  
Herrmann, Borelli, Casey, Dawson, Brett, Boden and Jay were all in the waiting room.  
Boden came up to Kelly. He put his hand on Kelly's shoulder.  
"Thanks" Kelly said "Next shift, I-"  
"Don't you worry about it, we've got it covered. Take however long you need" Boden said before Kelly could finish what he was about to say  
Kelly nodded his head. "Thank you"  
Kelly looked around at everyone in the waiting room. That's when he realised this was their family, their second family and that they could get through this.  
Katherine's parents came out of Hannah's room into the waiting room. Her dad went over to Kelly.  
"Can I talk to you?" He asked  
"Sure" Kelly replied  
they went somewhere more private and quiet  
"We need to start planning Katherine's funeral" Her dad explained "And whether we do it now, or we wait"  
"What do you mean?" Kelly questioned  
Katherine's dad let out a sigh "Whether we let them be together"  
"No" Kelly replied "Hannah will get through this, I'm not giving up on her"  
"We need to look at this logically Kelly"  
"No, not now. Not until Will tells me different"  
"Alright then" Her dad replied "Well wait. Hopefully, Hannah will be well enough to go."  
"Have you told her about Katherine?"  
"No, we'll leave that for when she wakes up"  
"Thank you" Kelly replied

Kelly and Erin went back into Hannah's room  
Kelly went over and held Hannah's hand  
"I've told you this before squirt and I'm telling you again. You need to fight. You've got two families you need to fight for and they're going to be with you all the way"  
He kissed Hannah on the forehead  
"We need you Han" Erin said as she ran her hand through Hannah's hair.


End file.
